For more than 20 years, Melissa Palmer has been a registered nurse. From the emergency room to case management, Palmer's focus as a nurse has shifted since the onset of the pandemic. She's been administering COVID-19 tests at the Paso Robles testing location for the last four months.
"I feel like there is a huge demand for community outreach and testing," Palmer said.
While communities open up more opportunities for vaccines, Palmer wants locals to know that even after a vaccination, it is important to continue to receive COVID-19 tests.
"I feel like this role in my testing site RN position has given me a new setting on having people get through, get tested," Palmer said. "There's still a need for testing and there's still a need for awareness about vaccinations and testing," Palmer said.
According to the CDC, those who have been vaccinated should get tested if COVID-19 symptoms develop.
Palmer says the testing site she works at still sees about 100 patients per day, and patients are able to perform the tests on themselves under a nurse's supervision.
For details on testing locations and hours, click here.
