University Of Evansville: UE ChangeLab Brings Vaccine Awareness To Latino Community

Press release from the University of Evansville:

September 22, 2021

Holy Rosary Catholic Church, located on south Green River Road in Evansville, will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic this Sunday, September 26, 2021, from 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. The clinic is targeted toward the youth of the local Latino community.  

The first dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be administered on that Sunday, and the second dose will be administered at another clinic on Sunday, October 17, 2021, from 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Anyone age 12 and older can receive the vaccine for free. No identification cards or insurance will be required, and registration will be walk-in only. Individuals must wear a mask while at the clinic. 

Any Latino high school student who receives both doses of the vaccine will be entered to win a four-year, full-tuition scholarship from the University of Evansville. If the student is already fully vaccinated but would still like to be entered for the scholarship, they must bring proof of full vaccination and a friend, family member, or neighbor to the clinic. This individual must receive both doses of the vaccine for the student to be eligible for the scholarship. The drawing will be held after the second vaccine clinic.  

In partnership with Holy Rosary and Ascension St. Vincent, a professor and group of students from UE have worked diligently to increase COVID-19 vaccine awareness in the local Latino community. The idea arose from a ChangeLab – a semester-long UE course in which student teams develop innovative solutions to challenges either locally, nationally, or globally. The ChangeLab was held throughout the Spring 2021 semester and titled “Latinx Community Health.” 

Although vaccination awareness and encouragement has been strong in Evansville, the majority of information has been in English – whether it be online or printed in schools, healthcare facilities, or stores. Coached by Cindy Crowe, assistant professor emeritus of Spanish, the students used medical Spanish knowledge to transcribe English materials to Spanish. In particular, they created a pamphlet completely in Spanish that shared CDC guidelines as well as vaccination locations in Evansville.  

After producing the materials, Crowe and her students looked for a way to provide a comfortable, easily accessible vaccination site for Latinos where no ID was required. This was accomplished by forming a partnership with Ascension St. Vincent and Holy Rosary. Holy Rosary offers Catholic mass services in Spanish on Wednesdays and Sundays, so they knew it would be an ideal location for reaching the community and hosting the clinic. The team of students also translated the registration forms for the clinic, which led to more than 100 full vaccinations.  

“Since our clinic in the spring, the vaccine is now available for high school students, so we wanted the next clinic to focus on supporting them,” said Crowe. “As the coach of this class, it has been extremely rewarding to see these students take their ideas and goals and create a real difference in the community.” 

This press release was produced by the University of Evansville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.