REVERE, Mass. — The Wonderland ballroom in Revere has been a place to party and celebrate for decades. Zeina Kahhale is ready to dance for another reason.
“I wish I could take my mask off and you could see my smile,” Kahhale said.
She was pleasantly surprised to get the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine
“It’s very nice to know that you’re done and you’re going to be completely vaccinated in two weeks, that’s great,” Kahhale said.
The transformed vaccination site set up by the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center can deliver 2,000 doses a week just for the surrounding communities.
“Revere and all the cities around Revere were really hard hit by the pandemic, so we’re trying to make this easy access for them to come and get the vaccine,” said Elida Acuna Martinez of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
Many people in those communities are essential workers employed in public-facing jobs.
The National Guard ‘Foxtrot’ team was on hand to help administer the vaccine Wednesday. Organizers said fear is realized, but the role is solely to help, not hinder the process.
“Usually, in the immigrant community, there is fear when they see someone with a uniform. Automatically they think, if someone is undocumented, they are going to be reported; that’s not the case,” said Elida Acuna Martinez of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
This site will operate daily Tuesday through Saturday.
Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts
>> Complete Covid-19 vaccine coverage
RESOURCES:
- Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
