‘We need to spread the word:’ Kissimmee church offering COVID-19 vaccine during back-to-school event

Solid Rock Community Church partners with Osceola County health department

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A Kissimmee church is partnering with the Osceola County Health Department to provide the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and school immunizations.

Solid Rock Community Church lead pastor Matthew Quainoo said he knows firsthand how devastating COVID-19 can be.

“We just did two funerals for unvaccinated people in our community, so this is a matter of life and death and we’re taking this very, very seriously,” Quainoo said.

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The church partnered with the Osceola County health department during its back-to-school event on Saturday. Church members passed out backpacks filled with school supplies and bags of food while health department staff administered school immunizations and the Pfizer vaccine to people 12 and older.

“I think it’s really important that, as we’re bringing this shot to our community, we’re letting them know it’s our shot, this is our opportunity to protect ourselves and protect one another,” Quainoo said.

Osceola County health department spokesperson Jeremy Lanier said there is still vaccine hesitancy in the county. According to the latest state report, 69% of eligible residents have received at least one shot.

Lanier said they are focusing on outreach events, like the event at Solid Rock Community Church. He said the health department is providing vaccine information to people who are hesitant, adding they hope to educate residents about the importance of getting the shot.

“Our goal is to make sure that we provide information to our local residents that is science based and that is easy to understand and provides them all of the information that they need to know,” Lanier said.

Church member Tamika Lyles said they will continue doing their part to educate the community and help bring an end to the pandemic.

“We need to spread the word and we can see that still there’s a lot of work to be done here because people just don’t know,” Lyles said.

The back-to-school event and immunizations is happening at Solid Rock Community Church located at 1904 Michigan Avenue in Kissimmee until 3 p.m.