Port Huron, MI — As vaccine eligibility and supply increases in St. Clair County, a new shortage is revealing itself: the vaccine effort needs volunteers.
Jim Kaski, President of the St. Clair County Pharmacists Association and head of the Blue Water Immunization Partnership, said his main focus right now is encouraging the community to volunteer to help with COVID-19 vaccine clinics.
The county is particularly in need of vaccinators which could be active or retired RNs, LPNs, Medical Assistants, Phlebotomist, Pharmacists, EMTs, and doctors, but Kaski also said non-skilled individuals are needed as well.
“Anyone that feels they can dedicate some time to do temperature checks, help direct people at the holding areas, that would be fantastic!” said Kaski.
Volunteers will be trained, and even those who have been credentialed to vaccinate in the past but haven’t used their skills in awhile will receive a refresher before working with patients.
For those concerned about their skills, Kasksi said, vaccinating isn’t a skill you typically lose. “Freshen up on the basic things like CPR, first aid, and blood born pathogens, and then we’ll give you tutorials and make you feel comfortable before you actually do some vaccinating.”
Potential volunteers can start by registering with the MI Volunteer Registry at mivolunteerregistry.org. This state of Michigan portal serves to register, notify, and inform individuals who are interested in volunteering in the event of a natural or public health emergency.
When registering, select St. Clair County as the organization, create a username and password for the site, and fill out your personal and contact information. Once registration is complete, you will need to complete your profile on the site to become eligible for potential deployments. The entire process takes around 20 minutes, and it doesn’t obligate you to volunteer.
Once you’ve registered and completed your profile with the MI Volunteer Registry, a health department official will retrieve your information from that site and contact you with further instructions.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
