South Phoenix Vaccination Sites Open Saturday for End of School Year Push

The Equality Health Foundation, HeroZona Foundation, Maricopa County, Arizona Department of Health Services and other community partners are excited to announce two additional vaccination events for underserved populations on Saturday, May 22. For families who live near downtown Phoenix, the Grant Park Recreation Center (701 S. 3rd Ave.) micro-POD site will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For families who live near the South Mountain area, the permanent vaccination site at South Mountain Community College (7050 S. 24th St.) will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During the events, children disproportionately affected by COVID-19 will have free access to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and adults will have access to either the Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccines. Imunizations will be administered by Adelante Healthcare. Nasal swab COVID-19 testing will also be provided courtesy of Sonora Quest Labratories.

“With such a resounding community turnout at our vaccine site launch for youth last week, we are excited to continue offering underserved communities a way to stay protected against COVID-19,” said Alan “AP” Powell, Chairman of AP & Associates – Strategic Alliances, U.S. Army Desert-Storm Veteran, and founder of HeroZona. “We encourage all family members to attend the events, learn about how the vaccine works, and get immunized together.”

“We need to continue encouraging people to get tested, practice prevention and get their vaccine if we’re going to reach community-wide immunity,” said said Tomás León, President of the Equality Health Foundation. “Ensuring access to these essential services in underserved communities is our top priority.”

The May 22 events will be the seventh and eighth held by the OneCommunity Initiative which focuses on reaching diverse, underserved communities, and aims to track demographic data to identify disparity gaps and ensure that the vaccines are distributed fairly and equitably. The first event was held at Cortez Park on March 13 followed by an event at Isaac Middle School on April 3. The third event was held on April 10 at South Mountain Community College, which is a permanent COVID-19 vaccination site. The fourth event was held at the Phoenix Sunnyslope Senior Center on April 17, the fifth at Isaac Middle School again on May 1, and the sixth, officially open for youth, at C.O. Greenfield Middle School on May 13. Information about additional events will be made available as soon as possible.

Vaccines will be available by appointment or walk-up for those 12 and older, including frontline and essential workers. For more information and to register, those interested can call the bilingual service line at 888-587-3647.

The community event is supported in part by Walgreens, Arizona State University, City of Phoenix, City of Phoenix Police Department, City of Phoenix Fire Department, Travis L. Williams American Legion Post 65, APS, Family Tree Healthcare, NAACP Arizona Conference & Maricopa County Branch, Black Philantrhopy Initiative, Black Chamber of Arizona, Greater Phoenix Urban League, African American Christian Clergy Coalition, Diana Gregory Outreach Services, 100 Black Men of Phoenix, National Coalition of 100 Black Women Phoenix Metropolitan Chapter, Macayo’s Mexican Food, National Panhellenic Council Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Forty Eight Foundation, Arizona Latin-American Medical Association, Maricopa County Public Health, Insurus Medicare Solutions and many more.