Sunday March 27, 2022
125 Live was busy on Saturday afternoon as members of the Somali community met with people from Mayo Clinic, Olmsted County Public Health, RPS, and Diversity Council for the first Somali town hall.
The big discussion was more information on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Attendees learned some statistics about the vaccine. According to Olmsted County Public Health 82 percent of people in Olmsted County have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Nearly 60 percent of people in Olmsted County have had two doses plus a booster.
The information at the town hall was given in both Somali and English so that everyone could understand the important medical information
"For Pamoja Women we invited all the moms, all the youth to come and ask all the questions so whether it would be virtually or in-person just to get that information out there in a language they understand," says Pamoja Women co-founder Khadija Ali.
Around a dozen people attended the meeting in person. People who couldn't come in-person tuned in online through Facebook live.
"Throughout the whole entire year, we've had some vaccination clinics and to come together and talk about the numbers we've had so far," says Ali. "What we're doing in the effort of getting people vaccinated and having professionals from the Somali community here at this town hall today is even more amazing."
Saturday's Somali town hall will be the only one of the year but Diversity Council and the Somali community hope to have another one in the future.