Editor's Note: The information published in this story is accurate at the time of publication. Always refer to uab.edu/uabunited for UAB's current guidelines and recommendations relating to COVID-19.
117 Parker High School employees were vaccinated in our pilot cohort. (Photography: Steve Wood)The A.H. Parker High School community vaccination site — the third community vaccination site to be brought online by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine, joining UAB Hospital-Highlands downtown and the Hoover Met — will open for COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday, Feb. 11.
The Parker High School site is a collaborative effort by the university and UAB Medicine, the City of Birmingham, Birmingham City Schools and Jefferson County. Parker High School employees received vaccinations this morning as a test run in preparation for tomorrow’s public opening.
“Shots in arms — distributing this vaccine — that’s the way out of this COVID-19 pandemic, and we are excited to be in the heart of a downtown Birmingham neighborhood to help administer the vaccine,” said Sarah Nafziger, M.D., vice president of Clinical Support Services at UAB. “We have been working as quickly as we can with our community partners in Birmingham and Hoover to stand these three community sites up, and we are eager to get these vaccines going tomorrow at Parker.”
“I am thankful for UAB and the partnership which has created this vaccination site in a Birmingham neighborhood,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “We are committed to working together in reaching out to our residents to ensure everyone is aware of the opportunities available. I urge those who meet the current Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines to register today. If you have a loved one or friend who is unable to register, please help them.”
Like the downtown Highlands and Hoover sites, appointments for Parker High School can be requested online at uabmedicinevaccine.org by those individuals who are in the eligible groups as determined by the Alabama Department of Public Health. Once a registration form is submitted, no further communication will come from UAB until there is an appointment time available; that communication will come from UAB’s scheduling software program, called Phreesia, to confirm appointment locations and times.
Initial hours of operation at Parker High School will be 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. UAB plans to expand hours as additional vaccine supply is received from the Alabama Department of Public Health and as we fine-tune our processes at this location, just as we have with our other vaccine delivery sites.
For the Parker site, UAB is working with community leaders to identify people who may not have access to resources like personal transportation, smartphones, computers and internet that make it easier for some to get vaccinated.
“We take seriously our responsibility to break down barriers that cause health disparities, so we are conducting community outreach to give these individuals the opportunity to get vaccinated,” Nafziger said. “We will offer a limited number of unscheduled appointments each day for individuals in the community surrounding Parker High School and expand that outreach as vaccine supplies allow in the coming weeks to increase vaccine accessibility among underserved populations.”
If you are eligible to receive the vaccine but do not have internet access, it is still highly recommended that you ask a family member, friend or neighbor to help you register online at uabmedicinevaccine.org. Appointments are now being scheduled for the week of Feb. 15 based on available vaccine supply.
Anyone in Jefferson County and the Birmingham metro area who has been identified by the Alabama Department of Public Health as eligible to receive a vaccine can register to receive a vaccine at uabmedicinevaccine.org. UAB continues to follow the current ADPH guidelines for vaccination.
Following the state health guidelines for vaccination, UAB has been providing vaccines downtown at its Highlands location since Jan. 18 and at the Hoover Met since Feb. 2. To date, UAB has administered more than 47,000 total vaccines, including almost 32,000 first vaccine doses, to health care workers, EMS, first responders, UAB patients and community members.
Gov. Kay Ivey and the ADPH announced Jan. 29 extended eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations to include people age 65 or older, and additional groups of frontline workers beginning Feb. 8. The Vaccine Allocation Plan is available at www.alabamapublichealth.gov/covid19vaccine/assets/adph-covid19-vaccination-allocation-plan.pdf. UAB’s vaccination sites expanded to include those 65 and older beginning Feb. 8.
Volunteers, temporary workers needed
If you are interested in being hired as a temporary worker for UAB’s COVID vaccine locations on campus, at UAB Highlands, Parker High School or the Hoover Met, fill out an application located on UAB Medicine’s website at https://www.uabmedicine.org/web/careers/-/temporary-positions-available-at-uab-medicine.
If you are interested in volunteering for non-clinical positions at Parker High School, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/PARKERHIGH.
If you are interested in volunteering for non-clinical positions for the Hoover Met location, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/communityvolunteers.
If you have general questions or concerns (removing shifts from schedule, having issues with sign-up genius, etc.) regarding COVID vaccine volunteer opportunities, please send an email to COVIDVaccinehelpers@uabmc.edu.