Health Care District Shifts Gears with Mobile Clinic as Vaccination Interest Plummets

After crisscrossing the county to make it more convenient for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s three mobile clinics will return next month to its pre-pandemic duties: providing primary care services to homeless and underserved adults. The Health Care District continues offering adults and children as young as 12 free, walk-up COVID-19 vaccinations with a second mobile clinic stationed in the Lantana Clinic parking lot at 1250 Southwinds Drive in Lantana Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

“After providing over 220,000 COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the county, we recognize it’s the right time to return to our normal operations,” said Darcy J. Davis, the Health Care District’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’ve seen a dramatic downturn in demand at our mobile clinic outreach events as people can access shots at an increased number of pharmacies and through the Florida Department of Health for Palm Beach County.”
The Health Care District’s crisis response transitioned this spring from operating three mass vaccination sites to rolling out its mobile clinics, named Hero, Warrior and Scout, to communities with low vaccination rates, entertainment districts and events, as well as schools, concerts, beaches and areas frequented by young adults. Over the past five months, the Health Care District has partnered with the School District of Palm Beach County, community groups and businesses. But during the past few weeks, interest has dropped to fewer than one or two people getting vaccinated in a seven-hour period. As a result, online requests for mobile clinic vaccination events are no longer being accepted and the final requested vaccination event is scheduled for November 14, 2021.

“We’ve seen a drastic decrease in vaccination numbers at all of our sites, including outside our Lantana Clinic,” said Belma Andrić, MD, MPH, the Health Care District’s Chief Medical Officer. “However, we continue offering COVID-19 vaccinations at our Lantana site to provide access in this central location within the county. Our third mobile clinic can help support future COVID-19 vaccine initiatives for children ages five to 11.”

The Health Care District is offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Third doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are also available per CDC guidelines for eligible individuals 18 years and older who present their COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card showing they received two prior Pfizer doses. Individuals ages 12 to 17 must be with a parent or a guardian. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel administer the vaccinations at the Lantana Clinic site. Here is the Health Care District’s upcoming COVID-19 vaccination schedule:

Visit www.hcdpbc.org and click the blue COVID-19 Information Center button for updates to the Health Care District’s COVID-19 vaccination schedule. The Health Care District provides COVID-19 vaccinations to patients during regular doctors’ office visits at all of the nine C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinic sites across the county, which are located in areas of need. Appointments can be made by calling 561-642-1000.

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About the Health Care District

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides primary medical care and dental services for adults and children at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, a coordinated and lifesaving Trauma System that includes two FAA-certified Trauma Hawk air ambulances, registered nurses in nearly 170 public schools, short and long-term skilled nursing at the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach, and acute care at its teaching hospital, Lakeside Medical Center, which is accredited by The Joint Commission and serves the rural Glades’ communities.

About the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS25684 for Health Center Cluster in the award amount of $7,111,563. Of the total project, 81.9% is financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics were granted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) deeming status effective January 1, 2021.