As county health departments ramp up efforts to vaccinate, volunteers are becoming an integral part of the process. “We have a number of our own county health department staff who are in every single clinic from vaccine preparation to observation to education, but we do need those volunteers there,” said Epidemiologist and COVID-19 public information officer for Jefferson Co., Samroz Jakvani.
The county’s community vaccine site at the fair park is currently open a few days and varies each week. Jakvani said they have been able to administer just under 4,000 shots since it opened Jan. 12. Roughly 7,000 people total in the county have received the vaccine.
Jakvani said they also hope to expand their reach as more doses become available. “We are in the process of setting up additional sites where we might have smaller, more regular clinics,” he said.
Ten volunteers have been assisting at the Jefferson County Fair Park, from a veteran organization called Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon volunteers have helped at the site since January. Team Rubicon Co-Founder and CEO Jake Wood, a former UW-Madison Badger football player, said they will continue to mobilize support teams for vaccinate sites. Wood said they are also supporting a vaccine site in Appleton. He said they are planning to help through October.