By Tim Mastro

DOVER — A coalition formed in Kent County continues to leave no stone unturned in its quest to ensure everyone has access to the COVID-19 vaccines.

The coalition, focused on vaccine equity, has 13 vaccination events scheduled for June, including six which will utilize the Kent County Public Library’s bookmobile.

As of the end of May, the coalition has done 8,357 vaccinations, said Rev. Rita Paige during the coalition’s biweekly meeting. This does not include numbers from a vaccination clinic it was hosting at Dover High School on Wednesday.

One clinic on May 25 was held at the Liberty Court Apartments in Dover. It did six vaccinations there but sought out more by calling local businesses and senior centers.

Four more doses were administered that day, two at Betsy Ross Pizza and two at Brookdale Dover, an assisted living site.

“Some times that’s what we have to do,” Rev. Paige said. “When we walked into Betsy Ross, the owner of Betsy Ross was so happy to see us. She walked around to every table, ‘Anybody here need a vaccine?’ And then she announced, ‘Yay all my costumers are vaccinated,’ and made a big thing out of it. It pays to do that.”

The largest event in May was at Polytech High which provided 184 doses on May 22. Another event on May 23, at Dover’s Modern Maturity Center, gave out 30 second doses.

For June, the first clinic involving the bookmobile will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Frederica Fire Hall. The bookmobile will also be vaccinating at the Greater Dover Boys & Girls Club on Friday, June 11 (2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), at a youth summit in the parking lot on the corner of Division Street and Kirkwood Street in Dover on Saturday, June 12 (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.), at the Spring Meadows Retirement Community in Smyrna on Wednesday, June 16 (2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), the Milford Boys and Girls Club on Thursday, June 17 (10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) and at the Concert on the Green in Dover on Thursday, June 24 at 7 p.m.

Other scheduled vaccination events this month through the coalition are at the Mifflin Meadows development on Wednesday, June 9 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), at Maranatha Life Changing Church in Dover on Saturday, June 12 (9 a.m. to noon), at Polytech High on Saturday, June 12 (10 a.m. to noon), at Liberty Court Apartments in Dover on Tuesday, June 15 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), at Smyrna High on Wednesday, June 16 (noon to 4 p.m.) and at Mifflin Meadows development on Wednesday, June 30 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

Additionally there will be a vaccine clinic at Delaware State University every Tuesday through Curative Inc., beginning on June 8, to aim to vaccinate those 12 years old and older. The exact time for this clinic has yet to be announced.

The coalition also discussed potential incentives it could offer as part of the state’s DE Wins! program which launched this week which gives out gift cards and an entry into lotteries with the chance to win cash and other prizes.

“I really want this to continue to be a collaboration with the coalition and our office,” said Emily David-Hershman communications adviser for Gov. John Carney. “If there are adjustments that have to be made in order to reach some of these populations that still aren’t motivated by the incentives that are still out there, let us know. This is a fairly flexible thing.”

Statewide, 25.6% of the Black population is fully vaccinated, according to stats via the Delaware Division of Public Health. In Kent County, 29% of the eligible Black population (12 years old and up) are fully vaccinated.

Of the Hispanic population in Delaware, 24.8% are fully vaccinated with 25% of Kent County’s Hispanics fully vaccinated. More than half of Kent County’s Asian population is fully vaccinated at 52%, with the statewide Asian population at 43.9%. Of the statewide White population, 39.7% are fully vaccinated and 42% of Kent County’s White population are fully vaccinated.

There have been a total of 918,776 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines administered in Delaware. The DPH reported just 17 new positive cases of the virus in Wednesday’s update, bringing the state’s total number of positives to 108,911.