Baton Rouge General to Host Mass Vaccination Event Saturday

BATON ROUGE, La. – Baton Rouge General (BRG), 100 Black Men, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) will host a mass vaccination event in North Baton Rouge Saturday, March 6 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gloryland Baptist Church on Greenwell Springs Rd., near Choctaw. There is no cost to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but registration is required. BRG will offer 1,000 vaccinations at the event.

“This week we received our largest allocation of the Pfizer vaccine to date, which means we could tackle a large-scale community event,” said Dr. Raneesha Ford, director of pharmacy services at BRG. “For a year, BRG has been working toward the end of this pandemic, so we are passionate about vaccinating as many people as possible.”

This collaboration is part of a continued effort among community partners to both educate and vaccinate the community.

“At 100 Black Men, we’ve had many conversations with community members about COVID and how it disproportionately affects the African American community,” said Michael Adams, president and chairman. “While we recognize the complex history of mistrust in vaccinations in our communities, I want to urge everyone who is eligible to attend Saturday’s event and take the first step towards getting back to normal.”

“We know there are a lot of people out there who are eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine so we can build more immunity in our communities, and this clinic site is a way we can take an active role in making it available to more people, particularly those who are at higher risk of having complications from COVID-19,” said Dr. Stephanie Mills, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana executive vice president and chief medical officer. “We’re proud to partner with our fellow community leaders to show how important it is that we all do our part to protect the health of our friends, families and loved ones by getting the vaccine when we can.”

To register for Saturday’s event, visit brgeneral.org/gloryland. Gloryland Baptist Church is located at 6745 Greenwell Springs Rd.

Any eligible community member is invited to receive the vaccine. Eligibility requirements can be found on the LDH website. On the day of the event, please bring your ID, proof of vaccine eligibility if applicable (e.g. your work ID), and insurance card if you have one. Attendees will stay on site for 15 minutes after the shot to ensure there are no allergic reactions.

BRG has vaccinated more than 15,000 community members so far at its two vaccine clinics – in the Center for Health at Bluebonnet and at the Mid City campus. For more information, visit brgeneral.org/vaccine.

About Baton Rouge General Medical Center
Baton Rouge General Medical Center is the area’s first community hospital with over 600 licensed beds between three campuses. Baton Rouge General opened its doors in 1900, and has provided the Greater Baton Rouge community with high-quality healthcare for generations. An accredited teaching hospital since 1991, Baton Rouge General is affiliated with several medical school programs, and offers other medical education programs, including a School of Nursing, School of Radiologic Technology, Family Medicine Residency Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program, and Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. For more information, visit BRGeneral.org, find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BatonRougeGeneral and follow us on Twitter @BRGeneral and Instagram @batonrougegeneral.

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