Save Our Clinics

Re: Closure of the Tremont and Corona Immunization Clinics

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has chosen to close the Tremont and Corona Immunization Clinics on August 21, 2013 – during National Immunization Awareness Month. This will leave the Fort Greene Immunization Clinic as the only DOHMH clinic offering free and low-cost immunizations in New York City.

Vaccination and disease prevention are a part of the City’s Take Care New York 2016 Strategic Public Health Initiative. We oppose your decision to:

• Abandon an essential part of their core public health mission.

• Cut free and low-cost immunization services during the August back-to-school rush when most parents get their children vaccinated.

• Increase the risk to the public after consecutive years of new non-seasonal viral and influenza outbreaks, such as H1N1 and MRSA.

• Limit the Fort Greene Clinic to part-time hours, Monday-Friday.

• Withhold this information from the public, parents, the City Council and the Department of Education.

The DOHMH decision to close these clinics comes at a time when they are needed most: at the height of the back-to-school vaccination rush for school-age children and college students, as well as immigrant communities. Reducing access to life-saving vaccines could create a needless public health crisis. We urge you to reverse this decision and keep both clinics open.