Pop Up COVID-19 Booster Event Aims to make Third Shots More Accessible to Blacks in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, March 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Although many Louisiana residents have decided to roll up their sleeves for a COVID vaccine, enthusiasm seems to have waned when it comes to signing up for booster shots. To make booster shots more accessible to Black New Orleanians, a "Bring Back Louisiana Booster Event" will be held Saturday, March 5 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at L.B. Landry High School, located at 1200 LB Landry Avenue in New Orleans.

The event is inspired by the national Stay Well Community Health Fairs, which have been commended by The White House. These health fairs are a series of vaccination pop-ups, spearheaded by W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute in partnership with nationwide organizations, to bring free health resources to Black communities amid the crush of COVID-19.

The W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute functions as a national consortium of scholars who engage in innovative research and knowledge dissemination to reduce and eliminate racism as well as racial and ethnic health disparities in medicine. 

The Stay Well Community Health Fairs are important because only 56 percent of New Orleans area residents are fully vaccinated against the virus. The pop-up events have been attended by more than 3,000 people, 1,000 of whom decided to get their vaccines. More than 200 New Orleans area residents were vaccinated during the January event.

"Health disparities are a contributing factor in risk differences among the New Orleans' Black community. We must fight forward to ensure no more lives are lost, families affected and overall lack of life quality. Events like this create a safe space for accessibility and questions to be answered," said Rahn Kennedy Bailey, MD and NMA-Cobb Research Institute Chairman.

The New Orleans Stay Well Health Fairs are open to the public and will offer:

Bring Back Louisiana is serving as the local event organizer.

"Availability of vaccine resources and credibility of education sources are the unique forces behind events such as this. These pop-up events give families comfort as well as access not yet seen in many of our neighborhoods," said Tracey Flemings-Davillier, who served as the coordinator for the successful Stay Well event held at L.B. Landry High School in New Orleans in January.

For more information, visit staywellcommunityhealthfairs.org, Facebook and Instagram.

About Stay Well Community Health Fairs
Stay Well Community Health Fairs are designed to bring health-related resources to Black communities across the country. The W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute has partnered with local health agencies and community-based organizations in select cities to continue educating Black communities while working to make vaccine resources more accessible. These fairs feature local and trusted Black health-care professionals in panel discussions on the continued impact of COVID-19, vaccines, and emerging variants. For more information, visit staywellcommunityhealthfairs.org.

Media Contact
Josephine Reid
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414-260-8745

SOURCE W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute