Bobbi-Jeanne Misick / WWNO
At 1 p.m. Friday, a short line of people rounded the corner of busy Canal Street and shady North Clark Street in front of First Grace United Methodist Church to get their free flu vaccines. The New Orleans Health Department had organized another of its mass vaccination exercises to prepare for COVID-19 immunization efforts.
At First Grace, 20 volunteers were there to greet residents, fill out their information and direct them to the two vaccination stations set up inside the church foyer and the one set up outdoors for anyone who did not feel safe indoors. Seven medical professionals manned the vaccination stations, preparing needles with .5 cubic centimeters of the Fluzone vaccine.