Whitman-Walker Health, a DC health center with a special expertise in LGBTQ and HIV care, will administer the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, along with other facilities around the city.
Dr. Sarah Henn, Chief Health Officer at Whitman-Walker, told the Washington Blade that individuals working in health care would be the center’s top priority in providing vaccine shots, and it would be followed by DC residents staying at their premises for treatment who are at high-risk for COVID-19.
“Whitman-Walker is contracted with the city to dispense the COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with CDC and D.C. Health guidelines, and we will procure additional vaccines through our normal channels once the vaccine is more widely available,” Henn told the Washington Blade.
Whitman-Walker also provides COVID-19 testing at 1525 14th Street, Northwest and at Max Robinson Center at 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast.
To schedule an appointment for COVID-19 testing and symptomatic treatment, you can email appointments@whitman-walker.org or call 202-745-7000 if you:
- are experiencing symptoms of the infectious disease
- do not have symptoms, but have been in mass gatherings, protests or spaces where you cannot practice social distancing
- you have been around someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
The center’s testing involves collecting samples through nasal swabs and saline and results come back in two to five days.
“We provide stigma-free care to anyone who walks through our doors,” Whitman-Walker says on its website. “We are proud and honored to be a place where the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, as well to those living with or affected by HIV feel supported, welcomed and respected.”
Other DC hospitals that received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are as follows:
- MedStar Washington Hospital Center
- Howard University Hospital
- The George Washington University Hospital
- Children’s National Hospital
- Kaiser Permanente
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital