Southern University launches statewide COVID-19 vaccine campaign

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - In an effort to encourage African-American communities and other racial minority groups to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Southern University system is officially launching a campaign called “Don’t Wait. Vaccinate!” on March 26.

The grassroots, research-based campaign is a response to data that reveals ethnic minorities, who are disproportionately affected, are not getting vaccinated at fast enough rates.

“As the only historically Black university system in the country, located right here in Louisiana, it is our obligation to ensure that African-Americans and other ethnic minorities are well informed about the dangers of COVID-19 and the significance of getting vaccinated,” said Ray L. Belton, president-chancellor of the Southern University System.

The new initiative will engage Southern University alumni and other stakeholders across all 64 Louisiana parishes.

The campaign’s strategies include several upcoming events listed below:

March 27: Vaccination event with Ochsner Health - Baton Rouge, F.G. Clark Activity Center
April 10: SU Vax Day - mass vaccination event, nine sites including SU System campuses
April 17: Bayou Classic education and vaccination event
May 4: “What’s the Difference? Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna vaccines” webinar

University officials will unveil the campaign at 10 a.m. Friday during a press conference. You can watch it live here.

For more information and for a full list of events, visit www.sus.edu/vaccinate.

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