MDH and Metro Transit creating fleet of mobile vaccination clinics
The Minnesota Department of Health and Metro Transit are working together with the Metropolitan Council and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to convert a fleet of six Metro Transit buses into mobile vaccine clinics.
According to MDH, the mobile vaccination clinics will be deployed to communities that might not have access to as many vaccine opportunities. MDH plans to use these mobile units throughout the entire state.
“The mass vaccination efforts are great in that they provide thousands of vaccines at a time, but they’re pretty limited in where they’re available," said Emily Smoak, mobile vaccine units lead for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Other transit systems are now stepping up to provide free rides to and from vaccination appointments to assist with vaccine distribution, including Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, Trailblazer Transit, Anoka County Transit, SouthWest Transit, Fond du Lac Transit, MATBUS, Prairie Five RIDES and others.