Second Gentleman Pool Reports of July 8, 2021

SGOTUS pool report #1

Hi from DC's Anacostia High School! I'm your pooler for today's event with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Mr. Emhoff arrived at 12:49pm, wearing a blue suit, tie and mask, and did a walk through of the vaccination clinic set up in the high school gym. He greeted the handful of volunteers at the clinic and the Safeway nurses working the site.

"Thanks for all you're doing," he said to one nurse and asked her what she is telling people coming in to get vaccinated.

He visited with other volunteers who are running the gift card giveaway for people getting vaccinated.

Emhoff asked them what message they are telling people to get vaccinated.

"We appreciate it. Let's get this done, appreciate all you're doing," Emhoff said.

He also thanked someone who came in to get the vaccine.

I'll tweet some photos too.

SGOTUS pool report #2

Emhoff visited with vaccine ambassadors, who are running the door-to-door operations for the clinic.
The crowd of over 150 volunteers, wearing "DC COVID-19 Community Corps" vests, applauded him when he walked in.

"You are working really hard, thank you for doing it too because it's so important," Emhoff said.
He dropped his mask on the ground and when he picked it up said, "we won't need these if we get these vaccinations going!"
"I'm a part of this community so on behalf of everyone who lives here in DC, thank you."

These volunteers are making phone calls and knocking on doors to encourage people to get the vaccine.
"This is a door-to-door person-to-person effort and you are helping to save lives," he said. "Don't just do it for yourself, do it for others. And I know you all know that."

He mentioned his "friend" President Joe Biden and his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, to applause.
"She is a good one. I love her and I know you do too," he said.

He spoke about how people are getting back to normal life, saying he went to a Nationals game the other day and that people can go to weddings and into school.

He said he has been to 20 states over the last few months visiting vaccination sites.
"You name it, I've been there, talking about getting folks vaccinated," he said.
He said it is "far too soon" to declare victory over the coronavirus. He said people need to know these vaccines are safe, work, and that the people dying and getting sick are not vaccinated, adding that the Delta variant is "no joke."
"I'm going to keep talking until I'm blue in the face. I'm going to keep traveling the country," he said.

Following his remarks, a woman in the crowd wearing a "Vice President Kamala Harris" mask held it up for Emhoff.
"Love that!" he said.

He then took photos in the hallway with several volunteers and Anacostia High School Principal William Haith.

That's a wrap, SGOTUS left the high school around 1:35pm.

Background from SGOTUS' office:

Today, Mr. Emhoff will visit a vaccination clinic at Anacostia High School. He will tour the clinic before meeting with members of the DC COVID-19 Community Corps Ambassadors program.

Vaccination Resources
Anyone looking to get a vaccine can use the resources below to get additional information:
· Text to find a vaccine. Text your zip code to 4-3-8-8-2-9 to get three locations near you with vaccines in stock. If you prefer your information in Spanish, text your zip code to 8-2-2-8-6-2.
· Visit Vaccines.gov. Find locations, sort by specific vaccines and get more information on how to make an appointment.
· Call the hotline. The National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline can be reached at 1-800-232-0233 to get help in English, Spanish, and more than 150 other languages. It also has a TTY line to support access by hearing

DC COVID-19 Community Corps Ambassadors

Mayor Bowser formed the DC COVID-19 Community Corps as an enhanced engagement effort to canvass neighborhoods across the District to help Washingtonians make a plan to get the free COVID-19 vaccine at one of the city's centrally located sites. Now that efforts have shifted to vaccine distribution, the District is supporting efforts to target outreach to those persons who have not yet been fully vaccinated and to areas of the city where vaccine rates are lower.

Seven grantees conduct community activities to increase community awareness of available free walk-up vaccination centers, including door to door outreach and high traffic canvass programs that target both populations and locations where vaccination rates are lower than the city's average to ensure that vaccines remain equitably distributed and easily accessible. Each organization hires Community Ambassadors, who are trained and conduct neighbor to neighbor outreach. Additionally, each organization has a specialized targeted component, "microtargeting", to engage specialized groups to increase awareness.

In addition to the Ambassador program, DC has also recently announced Take the Shot, DC Giveaway. Beginning on June 19, all DC residents who are 18 and older and who received their first or only shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the RISE Demonstration Center at St. Elizabeth's, Anacostia High School, or Ron Brown High School were eligible to participate in the drawing for prizes including a new car, a year of free groceries, or a year of free Metro bus and train.