COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall to educate Staten Islanders

On March 4th at 7pm, the Joan & Alan Bernikow JCC of Staten Island will partner with Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) to present a virtual COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall. Dr. Philip Otterbeck, Chair of Medicine and Endocrinology at RUMC, will talk about vaccine safety, side effects, and efficacy. He will also answer questions submitted from the public.
 
This town hall is part of a larger effort on the JCC’s part to help spread awareness about vaccine safety and get vulnerable members of the Staten Island community vaccinated. The event is free and open to all in the community.
 
Orit Lender, CEO of the JCC, said “At the JCC, we have been working hard to both educate and help secure vaccine appointments for Staten Islanders. We feel it is incredibly important to make sure our community is educated about the safety of the vaccine. Thank you to RUMC and our community partners for joining us in this initiative.”
 
Since December, COVID-19 vaccinations have been taking place across the borough for eligible individuals. Vaccines have been distributed at RUMC and during pop-up clinics at JCC facilities.
 
Dr. Otterbeck noted, “I hope the Town Hall will provide the members of our community the opportunity to ask questions they have on their minds related to COVID-19 based on the latest evidence in the medical and scientific literature.”
 
In addition to the JCC and RUMC, the event is presented by the COVID-19 Connect to Recovery initiative. Partner organizations include Arden Heights Boulevard Jewish Center, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, Congregation Temple Emanu-El, Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island (COJO-SI), The Jewish Board, Jewish Russian Learning Center of South Beach, Met Council, Project Hospitality, Staten Island COAD, and UJA-Federation of New York.
 
To register for the free event, visit sijcc.org/vaccine
To submit questions in advance, email jcc@sijcc.com