COVID-19 has devastated our communities, our state, nation, and the world and has changed the way we can operate in our communities. There is a solution to get things back to normal: the COVID-19 vaccine. 

There are 3 different FDA-approved vaccines available to people in the United States and that are on the ground in Louisiana. All of these have been tested and are safe, and effective in stopping death due to COVID-19. 

Louisiana is behind in getting our communities vaccinated and this puts us at risk and slows the speed at which we can reopen. To combat this and ensure that our communities are safe, Power Coalition has joined a larger partnership between Power Coalition, the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana Public Health Institute, vaccine providers, Together Louisiana, and other community organizations to conduct a grassroots, door-to-door canvassing campaign to improve vaccine access and vaccine equity in low-income neighborhoods across Louisiana.

The campaign’s mission is to transform the lowest-vaccinated areas into the highest-vaccinated areas, neighborhood by neighborhood.

The campaign will:

• Identify the highest-priority census tracts based on social vulnerability and current vaccination rate;
• Partner with local community institutions to organize a neighborhood-level vaccination event within the target neighborhood;
• Conduct door-to-door canvassing to every home in target areas to schedule vaccine appointments for residents at their neighborhood event.

We have had canvassers out in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, St. Tammany, Washington and other parishes across Louisiana to reach people and ensure that they are connected with opportunities to get vaccinated. Our canvassers are experienced in this work and are going door-to-door, sending text messages, and making phone calls.