Officials worried about shortage of volunteers at Rock Hill vaccine clinic

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Dedicated volunteers have served at the Rock Hill community vaccination clinic four days a week since Jan. 24.

The clinic has vaccinated more than 40,000 people as of Wednesday afternoon.

It’s been a great success, but the city is suddenly struggling to keep the clinic open.

They need 90 to 100 volunteers a day to run the vaccine clinic, but last week they had 40 no-shows.

“We just don’t know until we get here and then suddenly, we’re short,” said Deputy City Manager Jimmy Bagley, who has helped run the clinic since it opened.

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“We really need people to support this community clinic like it was at the start,” he said.

Recently, the clinic has had days where only 15 to 20 volunteers showed up for their shifts. Many don’t call or email to let the clinic know they won’t be there.

It puts everyone in a bind, including the people being vaccinated.

The city of Rock Hill has responded by recruiting city employees from its own ranks to fill the empty volunteer slots.

On Wednesday, Police Chief Chris Watts took a shift to direct people to the proper check-in line.

The staffing problems are hitting just as the clinic administers more doses of the Pfizer shot than ever.

There were 1,486 shots given Friday, which is a record for the clinic.

Several people who are getting the shot said they appreciate how the Rock Hill community has come together to make the clinic work.

“I think it’s absolutely incredible,” said Marriott Loret, who got her second and final shot Wednesday. “Anybody who can take time away for their day to volunteer,”

Jackie Murphy saw the sign inside the clinic pushing for volunteers and plans to sign up.

“I just got my shot and just pulled up the app on my phone, so I’m trying to volunteer myself,” she said.

The decline in volunteers could be due to warmer weather or burn-out.

There was also an incentive for volunteers at the beginning to get the vaccine themselves.

Now that everyone’s eligible, that incentive isn’t as big of a draw.

There’s another concern.

Appointments and volunteers will be affected when construction starts on the Catawba River Bridge over Interstate 77.

“People are gonna roll out of bed and say, ‘I’m not gonna fight the traffic, so we know that,” Bagley said.

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The city is already talking about what services at the vaccination clinic will look like once the I-77 work begins.

They want to run the clinic through the end of May. They do, however, expect demand for the vaccine to drop off and may cut back on services.

The clinic currently needs many volunteers at least for the next few weeks. The need includes medical and non-medical volunteers.

CLICK HERE for information on the community clinic in Rock Hill.

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