Parents brought their children in to the walk-in clinic in preparation for back to school. 

THOMASVILLE — Archbold officials were happy to see a mixture of people come in to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at Wednesday’s walk-in clinic.

A total of 408 doses of the vaccine were distributed to those who took advantage, health officials confirmed.

Chris Newman, vice president of clinical services at Archbold, described the appointment free opportunity as a success for not only those who came but also the health system.

“I think we did a good job today of trying to use all of our different communication avenues and really give people a sense of the impact of what COVID is doing in Thomasville,” he said. “Really, the only best option for us to get over this is the vaccine and offering a convenient clinic that’s walk-in, no appointment, has after-hours opportunities the week before school starts for two of our school systems, so all of those factors have led to a success.”

Archbold initially offered vaccine appointments every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which only allowed over 60 to 80 slots a week for people in need of the vaccine. The decision to open the walk-in clinic came after health officials witnessed an overflow of appointments.

Newman said that there will most likely be more walk-in clinics in the future, but it would be determined by day-to-day scenarios based on the need.

“I expect that we’ll be pushing out another one day first dose clinic next Wednesday,” he said. “We have limited resources, so we want to make sure we’re getting that message out there and taking advantage of that. I do fully expect that we’ll do this on a weekly basis based on the need.”

With children headed back to school, Newman also said it’s important for parents with children 12 years old or over to receive the vaccine to keep them and others safe.

“I think it’s important that they have that layer of protection for them. We really only have two useful tools right now to prevent the spread, and that’s masks and the vaccine,” Newman said.

Archbold reported that 90% of their in-patients are unvaccinated, which is why Newman said the unvaccinated population needs to act now in order to avoid hospitalization or severe health issues.

“Especially while we’re seeing this spike, it’s important that we look locally to determine how we as a community can come together to prevent our health system from negatively being impacted by that,” he said. “My best advice to people is to look back at our health care system. We have the best health care system in the world when it comes to access to care. We wouldn’t have a vaccine that’s generally available if it weren’t safe and effective.”

Along with encouraging people to take advantage of the walk-in clinics, Newman is also trying to encourage any community leaders who oversee large groups of people to take advantage of Archbold’s remote vaccine clinics.

“If they have 20 or more citizens within their church or group, we’re willing to come to them to vaccinate those individuals,” he said.

To request a remote vaccine clinic or to get more information visit Archbold.org.