DAVENPORT, Iowa — As part of a campaign to get members of the Hispanic-Latino community vaccinated, Forward Latino and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Sunday, Nov. 14 in Davenport.
Whereas the Mayo Clinic reports about 60% of Iowa's total population received at least one dose of the vaccine, only 34% of Latinos in Iowa have, according to Salud America!.
Health experts in the Quad Cities have contributed the lower vaccination rates among Latinos to misinformation and overall hesitancy.
Forward Latino partnered with LULAC and the Scott County Health Department to help raise the numbers with a clinic themed "Por Mi Familia," or "For My Family."
"What we're asking here is to think about your family, not only yourself and actually think about your family being vaccinated for protection as well," Iowa LULAC Director Mike Reyes said.
The vaccine clinic will take place from 1-4 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Davenport LULAC Center, 4224 Ricker Hill Road. Anyone 12 and older will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine at the event.
"Any chance we have to outreach to those communities and to provide support and education information and just access a place that's in your own community in your own neighborhood to go get a vaccine, that's something we want to do," Health Department Deputy Director Brooke Barnes said.
While a driving force behind low vaccination rates in the Hispanic community may be fear of deportation, Barnes said no information about citizenship or residency is required to receive a shot at the event.
"That's why there's no ID being requested, no proof of where you live or your residency," said Barnes. "It's really just about making sure that individuals get that vaccine to help protect themselves. That's what's absolutely most important for us right now."