PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Dozens lined up outside a Portsmouth church on Monday where a clinic offered free COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
The Portsmouth Health Department held the event at Fourth Baptist Church on South Street from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Many lined up outside the clinic told News 3 they were there for testing. It comes with COVID-19 once again surging nationwide with the rise of the Omicron variant.
Inside the church, the health department had set up socially distanced chairs and a few vaccine and testing stations.
"For some reason, the city of Portsmouth and surrounding areas, people don't want to get vaccinated, particularly people of color, so that is one of the reasons why we want to be part of this," said Rev. Charles Beamon, Senior Pastor of Fourth Baptist Church of his decision to host the event for the health department.
A free vaccine clinic is scheduled for Wednesday at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church on Frederick Boulevard. It runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
COVID-19 testing sites can be found on the Virginia Department of Health'swebsite by using zip codes to search.
The Virginia Department of Health also recommends checking the LabCorp websitefor additional options.
