News

True North Organizing Network and Humboldt County Public Health are hosting a family COVID-19 vaccine fair this Sunday, June 13, at College of the Redwoods that will feature free tacos, music, face painting, a gas card raffle for those getting vaccinated and Spanish speaking volunteers available to help Hispanic community members.

The goal of the event is to make the environment more comfortable and inviting for bilingual families coming to get their vaccinations, said Julia Lerma, director of organizing at True North.

True North has been working to organize vaccine fairs centered on reaching the county's Hispanic and Latinx population, and they've been successful. Lerma said that they were able to help 300 people sign up for their COVID vaccinations in the span of seven weeks.

It's progress that she's proud of and one she's hoping to continue as the organizing network anticipates planning more vaccine fairs like this one.

"True North Organizing really has been a lead in engaging directly with folks that they've been organizing with the Latinx community, so they've done really great grassroot movement work, so they're doing a lot of direct support in getting folks registered for the clinic and making sure that information is getting out there," Emergency Operations Center Operations Chief Sofia Pereria said Wednesday during a Public Health COVID-19 news conference.

The vaccine clinic will offer both Pfizer vaccines for residents 12 years and older, with a parent or guardian's permission for those 12 to 17, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for residents 18 years and older. For more information or help with signing up, call True North's organizers Johana at 441-0986, Claret at 617-6197 or Rosario at 267-6925.