CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health are partnering with National Urban League North Carolina affiliates Urban League of Central Carolinas and Winston-Salem Urban League to co-host vaccination events in Charlotte and Winston-Salem.
The partnership is an extension of the Community Immunity For All collaborative, an effort to coordinate on-site vaccination events with local organizations reaching Black, African American, Hispanic and Latinx communities.
“Reaching the communities of color that have been most devastated by COVID-19 is the most important challenge of the vaccine rollout,” said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of National Urban League. “We’re proud that our North Carolina affiliates are partnering with Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health on an initiative to deliver vital information from trusted messengers to positively impact the health and safety of Black and Latino North Carolinians.”
“Atrium Health and the National Urban League have a shared mission to improve the lives of African Americans and historically underserved groups by ensuring equitable access to achieve good health and well-being,” said Kinneil Coltman, DHA, senior vice president, chief community and social impact officer of Atrium Health and vice-chair, board of directors at Urban League of Central Carolinas. “With the support of National Urban League’s North Carolina affiliates, together, we can save more lives by vaccinating underserved communities and those most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.”
Atrium Health’s Community Immunity For All collaborative brings roving vaccine units to underserved communities that, to date, have allowed for the vaccination of more than 9,000 community members at over 20 community host sites, including a variety of churches and organizations that serve African American and Hispanic populations. Communities of color represent nearly 75 percent of those vaccinated through Atrium Health’s roving vaccine clinic. Atrium Health has plans to scale its roving vaccine clinic capacity with the addition of two new mobile units arriving in spring 2021.
Have a relative or friend in another state and want to know when they can get vaccinated? Visit NBC News' Plan Your Vaccine site to find out about each state's vaccine rollout plan.