NEW ORLEANS — There are 700 more people who are vaccinated today.
That's after opening day of the mass vaccination site at the New Orleans Convention Center.
The City of New Orleans and health care workers there, say they could not run the sites without the support of volunteers.
And now they are putting out a call for more to sign up.
When you go to the Convention Center to get your COVID vaccine, the first person you'll see will have a yellow vest on. Of course there are medical people inside, but the operation could not run without those yellow-vested people like Fern Watters and Xavier University senior Raimel Brooks.
“I'm going to medical school, so this is kind of part of what I want to do, right? I'm dedicating my life to serving my community and just making sure everybody has the best health care,” said NOLA Ready volunteer Raimel Brooks.
“A meaningful move us forward opportunity seemed like participating in the vaccine process. I felt like I might have some skills I could add to the process, and I had time on my hands,” said Fern Watters, another NOLA Ready volunteer.
They are just two of the 2,000 people who joined the city's NOLA Ready volunteer corps.
“New Orleans is a place where our residents really care about each other, and this is just another example of neighbors helping neighbors,” said Laura Mellem, Public Engagement Manager for the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and who runs NOLA Ready.
Volunteers canvass neighborhoods to sign people up for appointments. They work the call center, and take care of the logistics at the vaccine site. They help monitor people after they get their vaccine. They are trained by taking three online classes that take about two hours to complete.
But even with the 2,000 people who have already volunteered, they need to double that number to 4,000.
For your work you won't get a paycheck. You'll get something much more valuable, gratitude.
“There was one lady, she was very elderly, and so I had to help her to her seat. So as soon as she sat down, she just had tears in her eyes, you know. She said, ‘You know, this has been a long time coming,’” Brooks said.
“A gentleman was leaving the room and he stood up and he sang "People Get Ready."
And he had this beautiful voice and it moved everyone in the room. It's been an amazing experience. We've had all kinds of moments like that,” remembered Watters.
So the city is asking anyone who wants to be part of this historic effort to join in. Anyone who is 18 and older can sign up.
And NOLA Ready is also looking for people who have medical experience to volunteer at the vaccine sites.
Anybody interested can sign up here.
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