To help older Asian Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, doctors from Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) in Las Vegas worked together with the community to obtain 300 doses of the vaccine. Tzu Chi’s vaccination event was successfully completed in an orderly manner, and in this difficult time, the positive energy and compassion delivered a welcome warmth that soothed the heartache brought forth by COVID-19, enabling residents to feel that hope is indeed still on the horizon.

Tzu Chi Medical volunteer TsuiLin Venezuela assists in administering the vaccine. Photo/Audrey Cheng Written by Audrey Cheng Translated by Diana Chang Edited by Ida Eva

To help keep members of the San Gabriel Valley community safe amid the continued spread of COVID-19, a second antibody testing event was held in San Dimas, California — this time specifically for members of Tzu Chi.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Tzu Chi Las Vegas volunteers have shifted their regular charity and medical programs to offer personal protective equipment and food for the hungry and homeless in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV.

As the global outbreak of COVID-19 swept across the United States in the Spring and early Summer of 2020, New York dominated the headlines, having the highest number of confirmed cases. However, the Native American Navajo Nation was also hardest-hit at the same time, with a reported higher infection rate per capita than any other U.S. state in May.

Tzu Chi volunteers donate PPE to St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston on August 3, 2020. Photo / Pen-Chi Liu Written by Jennifer ChienTranslated by

When a Tzu Chi volunteer in Virginia was notified that a pediatric clinic urgently needed face masks, volunteers immediately delivered PPE to the clinic. Then, when Dr. Nguyen expressed concerns for the clinic’s low-income patients who were struggling with food insecurity due to the pandemic, he and Tzu Chi joined their loving efforts to organize a free food distribution.