Durham group transforms old city buses into COVID-19 vaccine clinics

A Durham organization is using old, repurposed city buses as mobile vaccine units to serve hard-to-reach communities.

Posted 8:43 a.m. Apr 1, 2021 — Updated 1:57 p.m. Apr 1, 2021

Lora Lavigne

, WRAL Durham reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — A Durham organization is using old, repurposed city buses as mobile vaccine units to serve hard-to-reach communities.

In North Carolina, more than 4.7 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered, and 28 percent of the population has received at least one dose. Still, state leaders worry vaccines aren't readily available to everyone who needs them.

W.A.R.4Life is putting the final touches on the trio of mobile units as they prepare to deploy them across the state. The vaccines will be supplied by local pharmacies, and local nurses and health advocates will administer the shots. The goal is to ensure everyone overall has equal access to health care.

A Durham organization is using old, repurposed city buses as mobile vaccine units to serve hard-to-reach communities.

"There are a lot of Black communities, rural communities and immigrant populations that are not being vaccinated at the rate that we would like to see in our community," said Donald Hughes, a program coordinator. "And we want to really be a part of the solution."

A community calendar will be available online so different organizations can schedule and request the mobile units. A launch event will take place Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the East Durham Children’s Initiative at 2101 Angier Avenue.

“We’re saying, hey, this is an opportunity to reimagine the way our public healthcare system looks like," Hughes said. "The way our medical community interacts with communities of color and we really want to be sure that we are just as much able to access the services as any other community."

The first unit will be deployed next weekend at a public housing complex in Burlington.

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