CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads in Chesapeake was full of people Saturday morning itching to get their COVID-19 vaccines.
The place of worship shut its doors months ago because of the pandemic, but then reopened them after the city reached out about hosting clinics.
As a result, for the past 7 weeks or so, volunteers from different organizations have worked to put over 8,000 doses in arms.
“It’s a centralized location in Chesapeake. It’s easy to find and this facility is a little isolated so traffic isn’t a major issue here to get in and out,” said Secretary for the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads, Manan Shah.
Rudy Patel, the President of ARCpoint Labs of Virginia Beach, says they help the Hague Pharmacy with clinic operations.
1700 second dose Pfizer shots were put in arms, and 700 Johnson and Johnson shots.
Patel says there was some concern today’s appointments may be cancelled and the vaccines dubbed unusuable.
This, after Wake County stopped administering J & J doses at PNC Arena web 18 of the more than 2,300 people vaccinated experienced adverse reactions, including four individuals who were taken to hospitals and are expected to be released.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that reactions like fainting are not uncommon after someone is vaccinated, though it is reviewing reports of adverse reactions in North Carolina and three other states.
“I think the news that came out of North Carolina and Washington State was for a particular batch and they were able to track that down and they haven’t stopped it either,” stated Patel.
Patel says it hasn’t stopped these community members from lining up.
Looking ahead, he says they’ll keep on with as many clinics as possible– maybe soon with kids.
“Last night, Pfizer requested the FDA to get approval for kisd 12 to 16-years-old so we will keep a keen eye on that and keep on going with current operations,” said Patel.
