Trinity Health Of New England Hosts 24-Hour Vax-A-Thon
March 29, 2021HARTFORD, Conn. - As eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine opens up across the State of Connecticut, Trinity Health Of New England announces its one-of-a-kind 24-hour Vax-A-Thon event. During the Vax-A-Thon, running Friday April 9 at 5:00 p.m. through Saturday April 10 at 5:00 p.m., Trinity Health Of New England will provide upwards of 4,000 COVID-19 vaccines to anyone 16 years or older. Those under the age of 18 require parent or guardian consent.
The Vax-A-Thon, located at The Artists Collective, 1200 Albany Avenue, Hartford, will run non-stop throughout the night, offering a first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine alongside refreshments, music, and resources. All second dose appointments will be scheduled for patients at the time of their first dose. Appointments are strongly encouraged, but walk-ins will be accepted, unlike most vaccine clinics across the state. Appointments can be made at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/Vax.
“As part of our Mission and Core Values, we pride ourselves on our ability to provide equitable care for all community members,” said Reggy Eadie, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO of Trinity Health Of New England. “We, at Trinity Health Of New England, have a responsibility to make the COVID-19 vaccine as accessible to all members of our local neighborhoods as possible. We are committed to ensuring easy access to the COVID-19 vaccine and are doing so with this unique Vax-A-Thon event as well as through our expanded network of vaccine clinics. We are deeply grateful for all the donors, volunteers, and colleagues who are making this 24-hour clinic possible for our local residents.”
The event is made possible in-part from a generous $50,000 donation from three community partners: Fairview Capital Partners, Inc.; Fairview “ALL IN” Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; and the JoAnn and James Price Fund for Community Safety at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
The 24-hour Vax-A-Thon clinic aims to serve greater Hartford residents living within zip codes that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 and make up a large portion of the vulnerable populations, with limited access to the vaccine. The event will not only encourage awareness of the importance of the vaccine as a means to achieve “community immunity,” but will offer vaccine appointments to those who may not be available during normal day-time clinic hours.
Additionally, Trinity Health Of New England is working with the Department of Health and other healthcare systems in the state, to enable prioritization of individuals between the ages of 16 and 45, falling in the following five categories, deemed high risk for COVID-19 disease – Sickle Cell Disease, Down’s syndrome, End Stage Renal Disease on hemodialysis, solid organ transplant and active cancer treatment patients.
“The more people who get the vaccine, the closer we are to doing the things we love again,” said Eadie. “We all want to get back to spending time with family, celebrating birthdays and graduations, and going to large public events like sports events or places of worship, and this event and this ‘Shot Of Hope’ is the way to get back to those things we so deeply miss.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trinity Health Of New England has provided residents the latest COVID-19 information, education, and services. In addition to a series of COVID-19 webinars, Trinity Health Of New England has launched an expanded network of COVID-19 vaccine clinics and provided mobile COVID-19 testing sites for both the City of Hartford and City of Waterbury residents.