L.A. County child care providers have been eligible for the coronavirus vaccine for weeks, but getting an appointment can be a challenge and some providers are undecided about getting the vaccine at all.
Earlier this week, South L.A.’s Macedonia Baptist Church hosted a vaccination clinic targeted at early educators and the surrounding community, which has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the county.
“Accompanying the vaccination is a lot of education,” said Jennifer Baird, the nursing director at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles who helped organize this clinic. The hospital estimates 5,000 child care workers have been vaccinated through its efforts.
"We want to make sure that they feel well-informed and able to make that decision for themselves,” Baird said.
Edwina Shivers, a site supervisor at a child care center said she tried unsuccessfully for two weeks to make a vaccine appointment until her employer pointed her to the pop-up vaccination clinic. She was initially leery about the vaccine, but said she felt better after doing her own research and talking to the nurse at the clinic.
“When I'm at work I don't want to take anything home and vice versa I don't want to be at home and take anything to the center,” she said. Shivers said some of her colleagues haven’t made up their minds about the vaccine yet.
“Even though I think it's an individual choice, we have to look not only for ourselves but, for the protection of others,” Shivers said.
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