OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Sunday, the Douglas County Health Department administered more than 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in North Omaha.
The health department is working to get as many people vaccinated as they can.
In North Omaha, where large venues like the CHI Health Event Center are not available, they’ve been working with the community to set up clinics.
“We had trouble finding that kind of a venue up in North Omaha, so we kind of had to rethink our strategy and really done this strongly with community partners," said Kerry Kernen, who is overseeing the vaccine roll-out for the Douglas County Health Department. "Identifying sites and getting buy-in and the commitment that we can come in and use their building for the period of times that we can administer the vaccines.”
On Sunday, Douglas County partnered with Omaha North High School to administer both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine.
They say they wanted to set up the clinic at a well-known location in the local community to make it easy for nearby residents to get vaccinated.
“Anything we can do to reduce the barriers so that it's real easy for folks to come in and get the vaccine," Kernen said.
And a lot of people in the North Omaha area responded to the opportunity, registering for an appointment and walking in when doses were available.
“I think they’re excited for the opportunity," Kernen said. "I think they’re feeling hopeful. I think they’re just glad they can get in and get started on their series and get this first dose.”
The Douglas County Health Department will be hosting clinics at the school on May 2 and May 10 to give out those second doses.
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