CERT Helping Residents Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Josh Stevens helps at the COVID-19 call center inside Penn Central Mall.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County CERT Team, or Community Emergency Response Team, has been volunteering their time to help individuals schedule their COVID-19 vaccine.
Working out of an office inside Penn Central Mall, the group answers a steady stream of calls, looking for help in obtaining their shot. There are at times as many as six people working, while three is the normal amount of volunteers.
The CERT volunteers joined at times with individuals from Mahaska Health.
“So it’s kind of a group effort here,” says Stevens.
Josh Stevens, Deputy Coordinator for Mahaska County Emergency Management, was on hand to help explain the volunteers’ process when they receive a call.
When doses of the vaccine become available, the group helps those that call in for help in scheduling their appointments with either Mahaska County Public Health or the local Wal-Mart pharmacy.
There was an initial list of 1000 people called in, and that list has now mostly been completed, but a few follow-up phone calls are taking place to make sure everyone eligible for the vaccine can get an appointment.
“Some folks are calling us to let us know that, hey, I got my vaccine at HyVee, so we can take them off the list,” Stevens explained. “Originally, we had folks from as far as 100 miles away call and get on the list.”
Besides helping others get registered for their vaccine, the Mahaska County CERT Team has also been a distribution hub in southeast Iowa for personal protection equipment [PPE].
The State of Iowa drops off the equipment at the Mahaska County Emergency Management building, and the group organizes and distributes those supplies.
You can learn more or sign up for the vaccine by visiting the Mahaska County Emergency Management website HERE. You can also reach out to them via phone at 641.676.3599, and someone will help walk you through the process.
They ask that you call during normal hours from 9 am to 5 pm for assistance.
