Rod Jenkins, director of the Durham County Department of Public Health, reminds us to get that COVID-19 vaccination.

Free
COVID-19 vaccines

• Durham County Department of Public Health (414 E Main St)—walk-ins on weekdays 9am–4pm (6pm on Tuesdays). No registration or ID is needed. Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson 

• Lincoln Community Health Center (1301 Fayetteville St)—walk-ins on weekdays 9–11am and 1–5pm. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson

• Central Pharmacy (2609 N Duke St #103, 919-220-5121)—weekdays 9am–5:30pm, Saturdays 9am–noon. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson

• Durham Pharmacy (5826 Fayetteville Rd #105, 919-224-1234)—weekdays 9am–7pm, Saturdays 10am–2pm. Moderna and Pfizer

• Gurley’s Pharmacy (114 W Main St, 919-688-8978)—weekdays 10am–3pm. Moderna and Pfizer

• Harris Teeter (2107 Hillsborough Rd, 919-286-1500; 3457 Hillsborough Rd, 919-383-2249; 1501 Horton Rd, 919-471-1938; 1817 Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, 919-489-9887; 1802 N Pointe Dr, 919-220-5761; 5116 N Roxboro Rd, 919-471-6263; 1125 W Hwy 54 #310, 919-403-0794; 202 Hwy 54, 919-361-9893)—weekdays 9am–7pm, Saturdays 9am–5pm, Sundays 11am–5pm.

• Hersey Pharmacy (4711 Hope Valley Rd, 919-346-4008)—weekdays 11am–4pm. Call for info on getting homebound individuals vaccinated. Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson

• Josef’s Pharmacy (3421 N Roxboro St, 919-680-1540)—weekdays 11am–4pm. Pfizer

• Park West Pharmacy (4900 Hwy 55 #160, 984-219-6305)—weekdays 9am–6pm. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson

• Russell’s Pharmacy & Shoppe (2116 Angier Ave, 919-908-1060)—weekdays noon–6pm, Saturdays 9:30–11:30am. Pfizer and Moderna

• Southpoint Pharmacy (6216 Fayetteville Rd #105, 919-908-0217)—weekdays 9am–6pm, Saturdays 10am–3pm. Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson

• Triangle Pharmacy at Ace Hardware (1700 E Hwy 54, 919-544-1711)—Tuesdays 2–5pm, Thursdays and Fridays 9am–3pm. Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson

• Walgreen’s (1505 Broad St, 919-286-4431; 710 Fayetteville St Durham, 919-530-8774; 6405 Fayetteville Rd, 919-544-6430; 3793 Guess Rd, 919-479-5156; 1821 Hillandale Rd, 919-383-9428; 1812 Holloway St, 919-682-9546; 200 N Lasalle St, 919-383-5591; 3905 N Roxboro St, 919-471-1534; 104 Sherron Rd, 919-227-3114; 1109 W Hwy 54, 919-403-8059)—weekdays 9am–9pm, Saturdays 9am–6pm, Sundays 10am–6pm. Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson

• Walmart (1525 Glenn School Rd, 919-688-3081; and 5450 New Hope Commons Dr, 919-489-4420)—weekdays 9am–7pm, Saturdays 9am–6pm, Sundays 10am–6pm. Moderna

• Wheels Fun Park (715 N Hoover Rd)—Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 3–7pm. Pfizer.

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JOBS WITH DPS

Durham Public Schools will host a School Nurse Career Fair on Friday, December 3, 10am–1pm, at the DPS/Minnie Forte Brown Staff Development Center (2107 Hillandale Rd). Interested candidates are invited to learn what DPS is looking for and to hear about the benefits of becoming a school nurse with DPS. If you have any questions, write to Tricia_Howard@dpsnc.net or Kimberly_Hager@dpsnc.net. Visit the Facebook event page for more info.

MONTHLY HANGOUT FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM

The LGBT Center of Raleigh will host the next Triangle Autism Discussion on Saturday, November 6, 4:30–6pm. Self- and professionally diagnosed people with autism are welcome to attend, as well as individuals in and outside of the LGBTQ+ community. This month’s topic will be Change. Visit the Facebook event page for more info, and click here to sign up and to attend this free Zoom event.

FREE VITAMINS

​Hersey Pharmacy (4711 Hope Valley Rd, in the Woodcroft Shopping Center) offers free vitamins for kids, adults, and seniors. Stop by and sign up for your 30-day supply; you can pick up free vitamins every month. Call 919-346-4008  for more info.

NAMI’s FREE COVID-19 GUIDE

NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) has put together a thorough, handy, and useful COVID-19 Resource and Information Guide. We’ve all heard about the importance of washing our hands and cleaning surfaces and doorknobs, but NAMI goes beyond this and helps us deal with our feelings, doubts, and anxieties in a helpful and reassuring way. 

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To make the guide easier to read, click on the double arrows in the upper right-hand corner

( >> ) and choose “Presentation Mode.”

Formed by a partnership of Safe Kids North Carolina, the Riverkeepers of North Carolina, NC State Bureau of Investigation, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of North Carolina, and local law enforcement agencies, Operation Medicine Drop is an initiative that helps people safely dispose of expired and unused medications. A common practice is to flush them down the toilet, but that poisons the waters and endangers wildlife. Simply tossing them in the trash is also a bad idea. Someone could come along, fish them out, and use them as recreational drugs. Many overdoses and other drug-related problems happen because someone didn’t get rid of over-the-counter medications properly.

Operation Medicine Drop provides safe dropoff points for those who want to get rid of their old medications easily and safely. Here are the Durham County locations:

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• Durham County Justice Center (510 S Dillard St, in the lobby, 919-560-0854—weekdays 8:15am–5pm

• Durham County Sheriff’s Office, North Station (11821 US Hwy 501 N, in Rougemont, 919-560-0930)—weekdays 8am–4:30pm

• Durham District 2 Police Substation (5285 N Roxboro Rd)—weekdays 8am–5pm

• Durham District 3 Police Substation (#8 Consultant Pl, Shannon Rd near MLK Pkwy)—weekdays 8am–5pm

• Durham Police Department Headquarters (602 E Main St)—anytime (24/7).

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Click here for more info.

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES

The American Red Cross will host the following pop-up Blood Drives. (Blood/platelets can also be donated just about every day at the American Red Cross office (4737 University Dr).) Click here for more info and to set an appointment.

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Friday, December 3

• JC Penney (6910 Fayetteville Rd), 11am–5pm

Tuesday, December 14

• Rose of Sharon Baptist Church (4109 Guess Rd), 2:30–7pm

Thursday, December 16

• Duke Apheresis/Trent Semans Center (8 Searle Ct), 9am–2pm

• Kings Park International Church (1305 Odyssey Dr), 10am–3pm

• Duke Regional Hospital (3643 N Roxboro Rd), 10am–4pm

Friday, December 17

• JC Penney (6910 Fayetteville Rd), 11am–5pm

Tuesday, December 21

• Duke Apheresis/Trent Semans Center (8 Searle Ct), 10am–3pm

• Starbucks (706 Ninth St), 10am–4pm

Wednesday, December 22

• Aloft Durham Downtown Hotel (345 Blackwell St), 10am–3pm

• Knights of Columbus Durham (810 W Chapel Hill St), 10am–2:30pm

• VA Medical Center (508 Fulton St), 10am–2:30pm

Thursday, December 23

• Springhill Suites (5310 McFarland Dr), 10am–3pm

Monday, December 27

• Chick-fil-A (3429 Hillsborough Rd), 2–7pm

Tuesday, December 28

• Grace Lutheran Church (824 N Buchanan Blvd), 11am–3:30pm

Wednesday, December 29

• Bethesda Ruritan Club (1714 S Miami Blvd), 11am–4pm

• Clements Funeral Services (1105 Broad St), 10am–3pm

Thursday, December 30

• Village Lanes (330 N Hardee St), 1–5:30pm.

BLOOD CONNECTION BLOOD DRIVES

​The Blood Connection hosts mobile Blood Drives throughout Durham. Here’s a partial schedule of the pop-up locations (in the most public spaces). Click here to see the full list of locations and dates:

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Friday, December 3

• DPAC (1223 Vivian St), 9am–4pm

Thursday, December 9

• Museum of Life and Science (433 W Murray Ave), 10am–3pm

Saturday, December 11

• Kohl’s (5241 McFarland Rd), 4–6:30pm

Sunday, December 12

• Hi-Wire Brewing (800 Taylor St, at Golden Belt), 1–6pm

Saturday, December 18

• Glass Jug Beer Lab (5410 Hwy 55, Suite V), 11:30am–3:30pm

• Chick-fil-A (7836 Leonardo Dr), noon–5pm

NORTH CAROLINA READING SERVICE

211 E Six Forks Rd, Suite 103, Raleigh,

919-832-5138, website:

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The North Carolina Reading Service is a free service helps blind and visually impaired people keep up with the news and entertainment worlds. Volunteers read local news stories, editorials, obituaries, books, and advertisements from a variety of publications. They also read special programs that discuss specific topics like education, tech tips, and legal matters. Users can then listen via their smartphone and tablet apps, the NCRS website, or with any “Alexa”-enabled device.

Listeners who don’t have internet access can borrow specially tuned receivers free of charge. Donations to NCRS help cover the average price of $70 per receiver, and some listeners make donations if they’re able to. Click here to see the various ways of enjoying the broadcasts and to see the list of podcasts included with the service. Visit the website if you’d like to make a monetary donation or if you’d like to be a volunteer reader.

THAT ALL MAY READ

The National Library Service in Washington DC, in cooperation with libraries across the country, hosts the That All May Read program. People with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical disability that keeps them from reading or holding a book can have braille or audio books delivered to them free of charge. You can choose physical books or free downloads. Click here to get started.

HEALTH EQUIPMENT LOAN PROGRAM

4206 N Roxboro St, Suite 100, 919-748-1022, website:

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Project Access connects people who don’t have health insurance with medical services that are affordable or free of charge. Their HELP (Health Equipment Loan Program) helps uninsured medical patients gain access to medical equipment that they couldn’t otherwise afford. (Even people under Medicaid or Medicare can only qualify for certain equipment once every five years.)

If you any have walkers, wheelchairs, bedside commodes, canes, knee-scooters, reachers (pickup or grabber sticks), and tub-transfer benches, it would be greatly appreciated if you can donate them on a Tuesday (10am–2pm) or a Friday (1–5pm). Everything will be sanitized and repaired if necessary so they can be loaned out to people in need. Visit the website or call and ask for the manager, Amy Armstrong for more info.

HOW TO CONVINCE COVID SKEPTICS

This is a media briefing on how to work on overcoming reluctance to mask up, distance, and vaccinate by experts from Duke University.