DALEVILLE, Ala. — In order to get more Alabamians vaccinated against COVID-19, the National Guard has teamed up with the Alabama Department of Public Health to serve those in more rural, underserved locations.
Larry Magwood and his son, Larry Magwood Jr, of newton would get their vaccinations at the Daleville Christian Fellowship Church.
Over coming days, the National Guard and ADPH have teamed up to provide shots in arms in the more rural, underserved areas along with county jails and state prisons.
“You don’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder or worried about I’m going to affect somebody else,” Larry Magwood said. “That’s my main concern. (I’m) not worried about myself but want to let everybody else around me that it’s safe and it’s okay.”
Several who received the vaccine said they had their initial reservations but felt it was the right thing to do following prayer and consultation with family.
“It was time,” Daleville resident Marcel Dyck said. “It came to put my concerns to the side and come out and do what I know was the right thing for me to do.”
A National Guard spokesman said serving underserved areas and providing them the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccination is definitely a plus.
“We have gone from a mass vaccination with large teams to smaller teams that are branching out with the Alabama of Public Health to rural communities, underserved areas that haven’t had the opportunity to get to those mass vaccination clinics,” Major Billy Vice said.
In a news release on Wednesday, the ADPH said the state has recorded just under 11,000 deaths since the pandemic started more than a year ago.
