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In the waiting room of the Meskwaki Tribal Health Center, Genesis Ramirez gripped a digital timer, her legs swinging in a chair.
The 17-year-old just got her second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, but she didn’t do it just to keep herself safe.
The Meskwaki Health Center has been hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics since December. It offers those who get vaccinated a free t-shirt, mask, and reusable shopping bag.
Credit Natalie Krebs/Iowa Public Radio News My family is very high risk, and I don t want to bring anything back to them where I can t help them, she said.
IPR
Rudy Papakee, the director of the Meskwaki Health Center, has been at the center of the Meskwaki Nation s COVID-19 response, coordinating testing and vaccinations and advising the tribal council on restrictions.
The number of Iowans who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 is still far below what experts say is needed for herd immunity, and demand for the vaccine is decreasing.
State officials say 88 of Iowa’s 99 counties have recently declined all or part of their vaccine allocation. But there’s one place in Iowa that is nearing the herd immunity threshold the Meskwaki Nation.
Natalie Krebs The Meskwaki Health Center has been hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics since December. It offer those who get vaccinated a free t-shirt, mask and reusable shopping bag.