Uma Tulsa to Host Vaccination Drives at Tulsa State Fair and Festival Americas in Tulsa

TULSA – Uma Tulsa will host a COVID-19 vaccination drive at Festival Americas in Tulsa outside of ONEOK Field at Archer St. & Elgin on Oct. 9 from 3 PM to 9 PM, and throughout this week at the Tulsa State Fair at Expo Square.

But unlike many of the other attractions at the Expo, Uma Tula’s participation at the fair is a much more serious matter. In Oklahoma the Latinx community has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the state- a troubling figure when compared to the overall state vaccination rate. To try to combat this disparity and increase the vaccinations among Latino community members in Tulsa, Uma Tulsa has been conducting targeted outreach and vaccine education events among Hispanic/Latinx communities in the area. 

Uma Tulsa also hosts regular pop-up vaccination clinics in Tulsa. The organization’s most recent event was held September 21st, in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, where they were able to vaccinate 87 people. 

Beyond this community outreach work, Uma Tulsa leaders also meet with the local health department every two weeks to discuss strategies about how to best communicate information about the COVID-19 vaccines within their community. From these meetings, Uma Tulsa helps create and distribute translated flyers for Spanish-speaking community members about how and where to get vaccinated. 

“Doing vaccination work is important to us because we want our communities to be as healthy as possible,” said Uma Tulsa President, Martha Isabel Zapata. “Being healthy empowers people to pursue their goals and succeed in life.”

Uma Tulsa will host another vaccine clinic at the Eugene Field Elementary School on 2249 S Phoenix Ave, Tulsa, OK  Monday, Oct. 11 from 2 PM to 8 PM. 

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Uma Tulsa is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that creates culturally responsive educational and workforce development programming to support underserved, diverse communities.