CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Mecklenburg County Department of Public Health held a community vaccination clinic Saturday at the United House of Prayer.

500 appointments were made. A member of the church received her first dose of the COVID vaccine and says she’s excited to see her children and grandkids.

“I have kids and grandchildren, and yes, it does make is easier. Because I don’t feel like I’m contaminating them when I go around them. It’s very pleasant to do, I didn’t even know she stuck me, it did not hurt, I feel fine,” Priscilla Ford says.

“It's so important to us, I mean this type of site here is important to us to make sure we are getting he vaccine into the community. Especially those communities who typically and traditionally have lower access to healthcare services and resources, we gotta bring the vaccine to them,” says Dr. Raynard Washington, the Mecklenburg County deputy health director.

In October, the doors of this church were forced closed by the public health department after a gathering resulted in numerous people contracting COVID-19, which also resulted in five people being hospitalized and four deaths.

County health officials say they’re still only vaccinating groups 1 and 2, which included health care workers and those ages 65 and up.