Pop-Up Clinic Brings COVID-19 Vaccines To MARTA Employees
It’s late morning at MARTA’s Laredo bus garage in Decatur. Buses amble into the vast complex past a small white tent housing a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site, set up for the transit agency’s employees.
Victoria Goodman sits with a co-worker, waiting out the observation period recommended after vaccination. She cleans buses for MARTA and just got her first shot.
“I was nervous, but I had my friend here to hold my hand,” she said. “And before I realized it, [the nurse] gave me the shot, so it didn’t hurt at all.”
Goodman says watching her co-worker get vaccinated the day before helped ease her nerves. And getting it done at work was quick and easy — much easier than having to find a shot on her own.
“To have it on your jobsite and to just walk out and just get it, ASAP! In and out, 15 minutes and you’re gone,” she said. “That’s awesome!”
It’s not always easy for workers — especially those with jobs that keep the world running — to find the time to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The nation’s top public health leaders say one way to help is making vaccines available at workplaces.
The trend has caught on at different kinds of workplaces all over the country: airlines, grocery stores, food-production facilities and a variety of other employers have set up vaccine clinics for staff.
The pop-up clinic at the MARTA bus garage is a partnership with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta. The nonprofit brought the shots to the transit agency using federal dollars intended to boost vaccination rates in minority communities.
“MARTA has a very diverse workforce,” said Saba Long, with the Urban League. “They’re working directly with the public. You can’t drive a train or a bus from home, right?”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Black and Hispanic individuals are getting vaccinated at lower rates than white Americans, a trend that’s been present over the course of the vaccine rollout.
Long hopes efforts like the pop-up clinic can help reduce those disparities, one shot at a time.
There’s an upside for MARTA, too.
Getting more employees vaccinated will help keep operations running smoothly for the transit agency, which has seen major disruptions because of the pandemic.
That’s why Kenneth Middlebrooks, who oversees bus maintenance at the Laredo facility, has become an advocate for inoculation and talks with his employees to encourage them to get jabbed.
“We’re looking at it kind of like a preventative maintenance program,” Middlebrooks said, thinking in mechanic’s terms about the vaccination effort.
“If we can get them vaccinated, then we don’t have to worry about them getting sick down the road.”
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