NORFOLK, Va. - As the country faces an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases, a Norfolk church, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and Bayview Pharmacy partnered together to make vaccines more readily available to the community.
Many started the year off the New Year by vaccinating at Basilica of St. Mary in Norfolk. That’s also the case for Gabriel Laney, a student at Crestwood Middle School.
"I’m here to get my booster shot," Gabriel Laney said, a middle school student.
With the spike in cases, he’s more concerned than ever about COVID-19.
"I'm already fully vaccinated so just trying to make COVID doesn't affect me too much," Laney tells News 3's Leondra Head.
The omicron variant has accounted for the recent spike in cases.
"They are kind of spiking up more," Laney said.
Allison Clark, a student at Western Branch High School, says her booster shot is her way of staying safe.
"Chesapeake Public Schools had masks optional and then now they require it. I got my booster so I can protect other people and people who can’t be protected," Clark said.
Organizers say they saw more interest today because of the spike.
"COVID is here. It's not going to go away. We have to adapt," Judi Laney, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Norfolk chapter president tells News 3's Leondra Head.
"Even After almost two years, going into 2022, we still have a lot of ground to cover with the recent uptick of Omicron cases," Dileep Potnuri said, a pharmacist and the owner of Bayview Pharmacy.
The clinic had a large demand for vaccines.
"I’m sorry to say but we even ran out of vaccinations," Judi Laney said.