Catherine McAuley Center hosts vaccine clinic to reach immigrants and refugees
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Catherine McAuley Center (CMC), with Linn County Public Health (LCPH), will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for immigrants and refugees on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Linn County Public Health will administer the vaccines from 9 a.m. to noon at the Catherine McAuley Center (1220 5th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids). The clinic is expected to vaccinate between 50 and 100 people, and was organized after Linn County Public Health reached out to the Catherine McAuley Center about serving as a venue.
“Let’s remove one of the barriers immigrants and refugees face to getting vaccinated, which is location. Let’s make it someplace familiar to them in the middle of all the unknown of this year.” said Bonnie Lunsford, CMC Healthcare Navigator.
Interpreters will be on site providing information in clients’ languages, which include Spanish, French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda. In addition to on-site interpretation, information in clients’ languages, such as symptoms of the vaccine and safety precautions to take until being fully vaccinated, will be displayed in a PowerPoint in the 15 minute waiting area after the vaccine is administered.
The Catherine McAuley Center has published a number of videos on Youtube with refugee and immigrant community leaders who have decided to get vaccinated and want to encourage others in their community to do the same.
A follow-up clinic offering the second dose of the Moderna vaccine will be held at the Catherine McAuley Center on May 25, 2021. Time TBA.
