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Southwest reopens Whitehaven vaccination site Jan. 28; nearly 500 vaccinated on first day

By Diana Fedinec and Daphne Thomas

A Shelby County resident receives the Pfizer vaccine reopening day of the Whitehaven Vaccination site Jan. 28.
A Shelby County resident receives the Pfizer vaccine
reopening day of the Whitehaven Vaccination site
Jan. 28.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor and other community leaders joined President Tracy D. Hall Jan. 28 to urge residents to get vaccinated and announce the reopening of the Whitehaven Center Vaccination Site at 1234 Finley Rd. “If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for your children, your parents, your friends and your community,” St. Paul Baptist Church Pastor Christopher Davis said during a press conference at the center that was widely attended by local media. The word spread fast as nearly 500 residents were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine during the site’s first reopening weekend. 

President Hall said Southwest was honored to be asked to help deliver the lifesaving vaccine once again.  “You have often heard me say that we are the community’s college,” she told the crowd and throng of media. “Never has this noble purpose been more critical or apparent than when we received the call to join the fight against COVID-19. Nearly 40,000 inoculations against the coronavirus were administered right here at the Whitehaven Center during the six months the vaccination site was open. We were proud to assist the local, state and federal government agencies in this effort and look forward to serving once more.”

Establishing a vaccination site in the Whitehaven area was a critical consideration by the health department to reach underserved populations. The location also provides convenient access to residents through four major highways that feed into the area. 

“This collaboration with the health department and Southwest has been strong and beneficial for our entire community,” Taylor said. “The Pfizer vaccine COVID-19 vaccination campaign is one of the largest global public health interventions ever and it has already prevented an untold number of deaths. Without these vaccines, our hospitals would have been overwhelmed and our economy devasted.” 

Harris noted that currently over 80 percent of the seniors in Shelby County are vaccinated but most children in Shelby County are not. He gave a demographic overview of the Whitehaven area including neighboring Westwood. Together these two zip codes comprise about 100,000 residents with the majority being African American. “Twenty thousand of these individuals are children,” said Harris. “That’s 20,000 opportunities to spread the word about the importance of vaccination and 20,000 opportunities to possibly avoid COVID-19 all together.” 

Community partners who also spoke at the celebratory occasion included Michael Harris, Executive Director, Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corp., Dr. Ocpivia Stafford, President, Methodist South Hospital; and Pearl Walker, Executive Director, I Love Whitehaven Neighborhood and Business Association. 

The Whitehaven vaccination site will offer only the Pfizer vaccine to eligible residents 12 years of age and older on a first-come, first-served basis Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. No appointment is needed. For more information on eligibility requirements and Shelby County Health Department public health directives, visit https://www.shelby.community/.  

Community leaders at the reopening of Southwest’s Whitehaven Vaccination Site Jan. 28:

Community leaders at the reopening of Southwest’s Whitehaven Vaccination Site Jan. 28: Executive Director, Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corp., Michael Harris; President, Methodist South Hospital, Dr. Ocpivia Stafford; Southwest President, Dr. Tracy D. Hall; Shelby County Health Department Director, Dr. Michelle Taylor; Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris; Senior Pastor, St Paul Baptist Church, Dr. Christopher Davis; and Executive Director, I Love Whitehaven Neighborhood and Business Association, Pearl Walker.