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Call for vaccinations ahead of Native Omaha Days

Posted at 10:36 AM, Jul 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-22 12:45:10-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Native Omaha Days is one of the largest gatherings of the African American community in the state of Nebraska.

The week-long festival in North Omaha is just a week away and health leaders are raising a red flag.

With the COVID-19 vaccination rate much lower among African-American communities, area health leaders are warning residents to be careful at the upcoming Native Omaha Days, especially as the more severe, transmissible delta variant becomes the dominant strain in Douglas County.

"We really just need to raise the alarm to everybody that particularly that weekend if you want to be out to encourage you to think about wearing a mask even if you are vaccinated because the possibility is that seven out of 10 people that you are going to be around are not going to be vaccinated based on statistics and that is a very high risk to take," said Chris Rodgers, Douglas County Board of Health President.

The event will take place on Monday, July 26 through Monday, August 2nd.

The Native Omaha Days committee said they will closely monitor the situation with COVID-19 and make decisions based on the guidelines and recommendations from the Douglas County Health Director and other health professionals.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse added that although the event is outside, the delta variant is more transmissible.

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