Resource fair offers COVID-19 vaccinations

Free at Black River Landing on Oct. 10

Vaccines against the coronavirus — and payments for getting them — will be part of a community health fair this weekend.

Resources on the River will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., Oct. 10, at Black River Landing Transportation Center, 421 Black River Lane in downtown Lorain.

The goal of the free event is to help the community pull through the coronavirus pandemic, said organizer Victoria Kempton.

For those getting vaccinated, Medicaid recipients age 12 and older will receive gift cards worth $110, Kempton said.

Those who can show proof of their shots, also will qualify for the gift cards.

Lorain County Public Health will offer the free vaccine shots. That agency has done amazing work, Kempton said, but the county still lags in getting to the 70 percent vaccination rate that will slow the pandemic.

As of Oct. 6, Ohio Department of Health figures showed Lorain County had a vaccination started rate of 58.16 percent, or about 180,195 people of all ages.

Based on age group, teens and adults age 20 to 30, had lower vaccination rates than older adults, according to the state figures.

Earlier this year, local and state figures showed people have had relatively low COVID-19 vaccination rates in Lorain’s 44052 and 44055 ZIP codes and in Elyria’s 44035 ZIP code.

Supporters of Lorain’s Spanish-speaking community also have made efforts to encourage vaccinations for those residents.

At Resources on the River, there will be hot meals for the first 100 people attending and Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio will have food baskets available to take home for those in need, Kempton said.

Other participating agencies include the Cleveland Clinic, Lorain County Veterans Service Commission, the Ecclesiastical Alliances Synod, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Cleveland, Lorain County Community College and the city of Lorain, including the Lorain Police Department and its Auxiliary.