Published January 21, 2021

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — For 10 months ordinary people have wondered how they could make a difference in the face of a viral pandemic that has paralyzed the world.

Among the countless volunteer opportunities so vital to keeping communities strong, one rises to the top at this juncture in the COVID-19 battle. It is assisting public health officials in administering the vaccine to millions of Americans.

The Biden Administration has set a goal of administering 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of his first 100 days in office, around the end of April, so while the first few weeks of the vaccine distribution have been slower than originally projected the need for volunteer assistance will grow exponentially in the next three months and beyond.

The town of North Reading held its first COVID-19 clinics for its first responders at Town Hall last week. The Board of Health was assisted by many town employees to facilitate the task.

Medical Reserve Corps

The town also has an immediate need for residents to step forward to join the Medical Reserve Corps, which is an organization that serves the communities of North Reading, Reading, Lynnfield, Wilmington, Andover, North Andover, Lawrence and Methuen.

“That corps, the Greater River Valley Medical Reserve Corps, consists of both medically-credentialed volunteers (MDs, RNs, LPNs, EMTs, etc.) as well as non-medical volunteers. Requests for volunteer assistance can come from any of our communities, and in ‘normal times’ typically relate to such events as annual community flu immunization clinics,” North Reading’s Health Director Bob Bracey said in a statement.

“At those customary events, those volunteers who have the appropriate credentials vaccinate while the non-medicals help with logistics such as inputting information about health insurance and helping with traffic control,” he added.

Medical Reserve Corps volunteers also provide invaluable assistance during emergencies like the gas explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in September of 2018, he said.

“As we’re all well aware, these are assuredly not ‘normal times.’ We anticipate a tremendous need for new volunteers to supplement our current roster of both varieties of volunteers for COVID-19 immunization clinics,” Bracey said. “We welcome any North Reading residents who would be willing to participate, for however little or much time that they may be in a position to contribute.”

In fact, there is no specified time commitment required to join the Corps – just a willingness to receive requests for assistance. “Members of the Corps are always free to accept or decline any such request,” he explained.

On Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., the town participated in the National COVID-19 Memorial Observance to honor the 400,000 Americans whose cause of death has been attributed to the virus in the past 10 months. Vietnam veteran John Watson of North Reading rung the 161-year-old bell in the cupola of the Third Meetinghouse on the Common by hand 40 times while all apparatus at the town’s Fire and Police Station, which had been moved to the front of the building, flashed their red and blue strobe lights. The lights on the bandstand on the Town Common were also illuminated in their honor. It was a somber reminder of all those we have lost to this pandemic. North Reading has lost 16 residents to COVID-19.

Those interested in joining the regional Medical Reserve Corps are asked to contact Corps Coordinator Jake Lamond at GRVMRCorps@mail.com.

The application process consists of a one-page volunteer application and a “Consent to CORI” form for a criminal record check. Both can be completed by mail.

For additional information residents can review the Corps’ website, GRVMRC.johnguilfoil.com or the Commonwealth’s MRC website, mamedicalreservecorps.org.