Together Louisiana going door-to-door to sway residents to get vaccinated

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There’s a new effort to help get more people comfortable with taking the COVD-19 shot.

Volunteers with Together Louisiana went door-to-door across several Baton Rouge neighborhoods Monday, April 19, to educate people about the vaccine and answer any questions they might have from the comfort of their own home.

“Reality is we’ve all been held captive for over a year,” said Khalid Hudson.

As of Monday, only 21% of Louisianians are fully vaccinated. That’s a far cry from where health experts want the state to be.

Hudson is one of the organizers with Together Baton Rouge and Together Louisiana. He said most of the hesitation from people comes from misinformation.

“I know there’s a lot of information, a lot of websites, a lot of news coverage, but many folks may be in some of these communities might not watch regular news or might not have access to regular internet,” said Hudson. “So, it’s like that information still has not got to them. So, we’re bringing the information to their doorstep.”

ONE-STOP-SHOP: Stats, links related to COVID-19

For some of the volunteers, it was more personal.

Kimberly Thomas didn’t want to take the shot at first but after losing a few loved ones to the virus and doing her own research, she had a change of heart.

“I, too, was one that didn’t take flu shots; I don’t take flu shots,” said Thomas. “But I went and researched everything and decided that I needed to take this because this is the only way we can beat it.”

Their hope is that one more knock could save one more person.

”This is an opportunity for us to be on the frontline and finally move beyond it. Things will never return to what it was but how do we actively and proactively establish a new norm moving forward?” asked Hudson.

Here’s where you can get vaccinated over the next few weeks:

Federal COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center:

Rear Parking Lot of Bon Carre

7306 Harry Drive

Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Walk-ups are encouraged. Appointments can also be made at brla.gov/GetVaccinated or by calling 1-855-453-0774.

Community Outreach Vaccine Sites (Walk-ups are encouraged):

Jewel J. Newman Community Center, April 23 & 24

2013 Central Rd

Baton Rouge, LA 70807

Martin Luther King Jr Community Center, April 30 & May 1

4000 Gus Young Ave

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Charles R Kelly Community Center, May 14 & 15

3535 Riley St

Baton Rouge, LA 70805

COVID-19 Vaccine, Testing Locations

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