ASU Helps COVID Vaccine Clinics in Montgomery

ASU Volunteers Assist With Montgomery COVID Vaccine Clinics 

By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU 

Volunteers from Alabama State University are helping to staff a series of free drive-through, COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Montgomery, targeted to help school-aged children ages 12 and up. 

ASU volunteers have already helped with a clinic held on July 17, and they are gearing-up to assist with the next one that will be held on Aug. 14 at 150 Fleming Road in the AME Zion Church's Alabama-Florida Empowerment Development Center. Both free clinics have been hosted by Parks Pharmacy and the AME Zion Church, explained Kenneth Waters, ASU's Marketing and Communications coordinator. 

"Even though these clinics are designed for children ages 12 and up, our Aug. 14 free clinic is also open to anyone and everyone who desires to safeguard their health and the health of their loved ones by getting the COVID-19 vaccine," said Waters, who organized the University's volunteers on behalf of President Quinton T. Ross, Jr. "This is all part of ASU's ongoing community effort to help everyone to be as safe and healthy as possible. The University's volunteers will help make a difference by engaging the community with ‘Bama State spirit." 

SPONSOR'S GOAL IS TO INCREASE MONTGOMERY'S VACCINE RATIO 

According to one of the sponsors of the event, Demetrius "Dee" Parks, a 1984 ASU alumna who is the founder of Parks Pharmacy on Mulberry Street; the free event will offer both the Pfizer vaccine for children and the Johnson & Johnson injections for those aged 18 and older. 

"Both my pharmacy and our co-host, the AME Zion Church, feel we must offer these vaccine opportunities because if we as a community do not get a handle on the virus now, we are in for a lot of sickness and death if it comes back with a vengeance in the fall and winter as some public health experts believe," said Parks. "Those of us who are involved in science know that viruses mutate, so if we don't do our best to finish the COVID-19 virus as best as possible now by taking the vaccine, it's going to continue to mutate as it has done so three times already."  

ALL ABOUT PROTECTING THE COMMUNITY 

In this recent effort hosted by Parks Pharmacy and the AME Zion Church, ASU's volunteers consist of students, staff and faculty. Their efforts are the latest in a list of University initiatives aimed at helping to safeguard the community against the spread of COVID-19. Since May of 2020, ASU has hosted free COVID-19 testing sites in partnership with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). The University is also a ADPH COVID-19 vaccination site. ASU Health Center employees have tested and/or vaccinated thousands of Montgomery residents including employees of the Montgomery Public School System and the local Hyundai plant, as well as residents of the Montgomery Housing Authority. 

ASU's Waters said all of the efforts related to COVID-19 are part of the President’s CommUniversity initiative that focuses on forming strategic community partnerships and engagement opportunities to impact the communities within Montgomery and beyond. 

"ASU volunteers are involved in helping Montgomery residents get the COVID vaccine as an opportunity to give back to the community that supports Alabama State University, and because we want to help create a safe environment for our children and others," Waters said. 

News media contact: Kenneth Mullinax, 334-229-4104. 

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