A closed clinic for residents of the Hillcrest area of West Hartford was held Friday at the Elmwood Community Center as part of the town’s efforts to increase accessibility.

By Ronni Newton

The most recent efforts by the Town of West Hartford to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible to all who are eligible resulted in a successful clinic held Friday afternoon at the Elmwood Community Center for residents of the Hillcrest area, which has been identified as one of the priority neighborhoods to ensure equitable access throughout the state.

West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District Director Aimee Krauss, who managed the clinic with other Health District employees and a team of volunteers, said more than 80 people had registered in advance and others who lived on one of the eligible streets were able to walk in to receive their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

The closed clinic, open from 2-6 p.m., was specifically for residents of the Hillcrest area, including Hillcrest Avenue, Steven Street, Abbotsford Avenue, Hollywood Avenue, Stanwood Street, Stafford Street, Bristol Street, Mario Avenue, Lynn Court, Merlin Avenue, and 918-970 New Britain Avenue.

Residents arrived at the clinic visibly smiling behind their masks, with even broader smiles as they left.

“You almost feel like you are giving them a part of their life back,” Krauss said, noting that people are not considered fully vaccinated until 14 days after their second dose, or 14 days after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.

“I didn’t feel anything,” said Maria, a resident of one of the eligible streets, who received her first dose Friday and left the clinic with an appointment to return on April 23.

Although her age group was already eligible, she said she hadn’t tried to schedule a vaccine earlier in the process. “This is the first one. I hadn’t tried before they came to the door.”

State Rep. Kate Farrar (D-20th), whose district includes the Hillcrest area, said she reached out to Mayor Shari Cantor and Town Manager Matt Hart to help arrange the clinic.

“To me, what’s critical is we want everyone in the community to have access,” Farrar said Friday as she greeted residents who arrived at the clinic.

Two West Hartford zip codes, 06110 and 06119, have been identified as priority areas, Farrar said. The Hillcrest area was specifically a focus of the town’s Social Services Department.

The fire department took the step of being the “full outreach mechanism,” Farrar said. “They have the trust, and today’s action can set the stage for leaving no one behind.”

That door-to-door effort, conducted by uniformed members of the West Hartford Fire Department on Saturday, March 20, was intended to reach a population in the town that may have less access to technology, to remove barriers to getting vaccinated.

Fire Inspector Marsha Adell, who is the public information officer responsible for Friday’s clinic, said uniformed personnel, including Fire Chief Greg Priest and Community Service Officer Troy Shipley, were among those who knocked on doors to inform Hillcrest area residents about the closed clinic and help them register.

“We have a vested interest in the community outside of fighting fires. The safety of our community is paramount,” Adell said previously. She said having West Hartford Fire Department members in uniform made it more likely that people would open their doors.

Members of the West Hartford Fire Department distributed flyers, in both English and Spanish, and registered those interested for the vaccination clinic right on the spot to receive their first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Friday. Their second doses were automatically scheduled for a second clinic four weeks later, on April 23.

Signs were also posted throughout the neighborhood, Adell said Friday, to provide as much visibility for the clinic as possible. “If you want to have a party, you have to invite people,” she said.

Some neighborhoods, some residents, need more attention and outreach to overcome barriers to the vaccination process, Farrar said. Those barriers may include access to technology, language, finding transportation, or just being overwhelmed by the steps in the process or the time it may take to navigate the system of searching for appointments.

“It’s not only the process itself, but they may not always have that trusted community person,” said Farrar. With the involvement of the fire department going door-to-door, and holding the clinic right in the neighborhood, “we’re meeting people where they are.”

The state announced last week that in addition to the expansion of eligibility to all over age 16 on April 1, $58 million in federal funds are being made available for an outreach campaign – similar to what is already happening in West Hartford – to encourage reluctant residents to receive a vaccine.

“We’ve really got to go out there and do everything we can to convince you, convince your friends to get vaccinated,” Gov. Ned Lamont said during a Thursday press briefing. “You’re going to see a ramped up effort over the course of the next few weeks in order to do that.”

Those efforts will include door-to-door canvassing as well as phone calls and outreach through religious organizations. Farrar said she hopes additional clinics will be able to be funded in West Hartford.

In West Hartford, 37.38% of residents have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine to date, according to data provided by the state on Thursday. A breakdown specifically by age or race is not available, but the Heath District’s website indicated that as of March 23, 79.49% of West Hartford residents ages 75 or older have received at least their first dose, and 96.56% of West Hartford residents ages 65-74 have received at least one dose.

Krauss, the health director, said she hopes that the opening of the new larger-scale vaccination clinic in the former ShopRite store on Kane Street will also increase accessibility. Future closed clinics to targeted populations will likely be held there, she said.

Krauss said she is doing a walk-through of the space on Monday, and hopes to have the clinic open by the week of April 5, just after the state’s eligibility expands to all ages 16 and up. Currently the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for those ages 16 and 17, and while the Health District doesn’t have access to that vaccine because of the storage requirements Krauss said she is exploring resources to change that.

The clinics that have been held weekly at Town Hall will move to the former ShopRite space, and Krauss said she has planned clinics for child care providers and private school employees there on April 8 and 9.

A final clinic for West Hartford Public Schools teachers and other in-school employees will be held on April 16 to administer the second dose to those who received their first Moderna shot on March 19. Because that falls during the district’s spring break, those who are not available on that day can attend another clinic the Health District is holding on April 22.

The Health District is also continuing its At-Risk Community Health (ARCH) program, which launched on Feb. 10.  Through that program, Health District nurse Melissa Marquis, along with a West Hartford paramedic, administer vaccines at the homes of West Hartford residents who have been deemed eligible for the program. They have thus far vaccinated 45 residents who have mobility issues that prevent them from getting to a clinic. Personnel remain on site for at least 15 minutes to ensure there are no adverse reactions.

Second dose appointments are also being handled through the ARCH program.

Cases rising

In West Hartford, as well as throughout the state and the northeast, COVID-19 cases have increased over the past week or two.

The most recent data released by the state on Friday, which included cases reported as of March 25, indicated 144 new positives over the previous week, for a total of 4,118.

The 14-day average case rate per 100,000 of population jumped from 12.3 to 20.7 last week – moving the town back to “Red Alert” status, and the positivity rate in West Hartford also increased, from 2.3% to 3.1%.

“We’ve seen some trend with our sports leagues,” Krauss said.

Carol Steinke, a public health nurse with the Health District, said many of the cases stem from private soccer leagues and there have been some associated with hockey as well.

The Health District continues speaking with sports leagues regarding protocols, and is also recommending that, in accordance with state Department of Public Health guidelines, only parents be permitted to attend contests.

The increased positivity rates are also a function of fewer people being tested, she said.

“We’re asking you to continue to be vigilant and take mitigation steps,” Krauss said including wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing.

Even those who are fully vaccinated are asked to follow mitigation measures in public, Steinke added.

On Friday, DPH issued a public health alert through the state’s Everbridge system, noting that although vaccination distribution continues to be successful in the state, mitigation measures like wearing masks and social distancing remain critical.

“DPH has moved several Connecticut towns that had been seeing falling or stable COVID-19 case rates back into Red Alert status, as the average daily case rate for COVID-19 has increased statewide to 25 cases/100,000 residents per day. Over 90% of the Connecticut population lives in a town with an average daily case rate of over 15 cases per 100,000 residents (e.g. red alert towns). It is estimated that 40% of these new cases are the B.1.1.7 variant,” the DPH alert stated.

“While case rates have decreased among persons age 70 and older, they have plateaued or increased among all other age groups. The age group with the highest case rates are 20–29 year olds.” New Haven County has the highest case rates on average, DPH indicated.

Hospitalizations have also increased over the past week, and as of Friday there were 456 people reported in the hospital statewide with COVID-19, an increase of 22 over the previous day.

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