BANGOR, Maine — Editor's note: The above VERIFY video on the flu vaccine being mandatory for Maine health care workers aired on Oct. 11.
The Maine People's Resource Center hosted an event Wednesday to help educate more Mainers about the COVID-19 vaccine.
The event was hosted at Pierce Memorial Park in Bangor from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. People passing by were able to learn more about the vaccine, get help signing up for an appointment, and enter a raffle to win one of several prizes from local businesses.
Wednesday marks the start of the organization's Vaccine Outreach Program. The goal is to educate 30,000 Mainers about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Abbie St. Valle is the project manager for the Vaccine Outreach Program. She said volunteers are also knocking on doors in Androscoggin and Penobscot counties to have conversations with people who may feel hesitant to get the vaccine. The volunteers, also known as canvassers, are also reaching out to community members through phone calls, texts, and emails to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
"There's actually folks all around the country today that are doing these events… right now, there's different parts of the state that have a lower vaccination rate so those places are where we're going into. Especially heading into the winter, we want to try to get our vaccination rate up as high as we can," St. Valle said.
As of Wednesday, according to the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 68.61% of the eligible population in Penobscot County is fully vaccinated, 68.57% of the eligible population in Androscoggin County is fully vaccinated, and 75.05% of the eligible population throughout the state of Maine are fully vaccinated.