Small but Mighty Clinic Exceeds Expectations in Atlanta

When Boat People SOS hosted vaccination event in November 2021 at a community church in Atlanta, Georgia, staff at the Vietnamese-American international nonprofit weren’t sure they would get a decent turnout. They advertised over the radio and Facebook and put up banners in the church, but they doubted their many volunteers from Emory School of Nursing and Mercer School of Pharmacy would have enough work to do. “Soon we found out that it was a good thing that we got a lot of help,” program coordinator Huy Vu said, noting they even had to drive back to their office for more supplies throughout the day. The clinic was their most successful with 203 people vaccinated for Covid-19 and 85 for influenza. Vu attributed the success of this clinic to the support of community leaders, including parish priests, the church health director, and medical volunteers trusted by the community. After the event, volunteers and members of the community were able to share a delicious homecooked Vietnamese dish which was provided by the church as a way of thanking the volunteers for their help.