Boston Holds Mattapan Square Vaccine Day With Clergy, Mayor, and 14,000 Memorial Flowers

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston's Day of Hope vaccination event brought Mayor Kim Janey, clergy, and health officials to Mattapan Square to urge COVID-19 vaccination in immigrant communities. The event, co-organized by the Mattapan Community Health Center and the Boston Public Health Commission, featured a mobile vaccine clinic, a memorial installation of approximately 14,000 flowers representing Boston COVID-19 deaths, and incentives of $50 to $150 in gift certificates redeemable at a local food market for attendees who brought others to get vaccinated. Carl Valdez, president and CEO of the health center, said the facility "did not close during this entire pandemic" and credited community trust as central to the event's reach. Pastor Kiki Fleury-Saint addressed Haitian community members directly, refuting claims that vaccines carried tracking chips or were spiritually harmful, and said community-led settings in Haitian neighborhoods were "key to increasing vaccines opportunity." Janey acknowledged personal early hesitancy as a Black woman and told the crowd that despite COVID infection rates reaching historic lows, "this is not the time to give up and think we've done all the work."