Hello New Orleans,

Coming up this month is our annual public health and safety Vaccination Exercise. On Monday, October 26, the City of New Orleans will host a free flu shot event at the Audubon Zoo, serving the dual purpose of:

1. Providing flu shots to residents during flu season, and
2. Helping public health and safety officials test plans for large-scale vaccine administration in anticipation of a future FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine.

For this large-scale vaccination administration event, NOLA Ready is seeking volunteers who are interested in serving our community in a meaningful way related to public health. Scroll down to learn how to get involved.

In COVID related news, the City will be moving into Phase 3.2 on Saturday morning, which will further ease restrictions on audience size, bars & breweries, and live entertainment. As we continue to adjust to our new normal this fall and into spooky season, it's time to start thinking about how to celebrate Halloween safely this year. Scroll down for details about Phase 3.2 and Halloween tips. 

- The Team at NOLA Ready
Helping you stay #ReadyYearRound

Upcoming Public Health & Safety Exercise

Volunteer for our public health and safety exercise Flu Shots at the Zoo: Testing the City's Large-Scale Vaccine Administration Plan.

The New Orleans Medical Reserve Corps and the NOLA Ready Volunteer Corps are recruiting volunteers to assist in this and future vaccine administration events. Volunteers will be assigned various medical and non-medical duties:

• Medical providers are needed to give flu shots.

• Non-medical volunteers are needed to support vaccination site operations, including patient registration, measuring throughput and flow, supply restocking, and logistics support.

All staff and volunteers will receive a temperature check and a KN-95 mask when they arrive. 

If you would like to volunteer at the drive-thru flu shot event, follow these steps:

1. Register for the pre-event training, which will take place online on Oct. 22 at 6 pm. (If you're not yet a volunteer with us, create a profile here.)

2. Register for your desired volunteer shift for the drive-thru flu shot event, which will take place on Monday, Oct. 26 throughout the day. Two shift options are available: Shift One runs from 12pm-4pm and Shift Two runs from 3pm-7pm.

The City thanks you in advance for your support, and we look forward to the exercise. 

Read more

Help our SWLA Neighbors

We've had a busy hurricane season so far, with six storms pointed at the New Orleans area. We are lucky to have dodged yet another storm this year, but are thinking of our neighbors in SWLA who were hit hard by Delta just weeks after Laura passed through. The City of New Orleans continues to host thousands of evacuees from the SWLA area:

• If you have extra funds, we've put together a list of organizations that could use monetary donations for their response efforts.
• Interested in donating supplies? HandsOn New Orleans has information about types of donations needed and list of donation drop off locations on this page.
• HandsOn New Orleans continues to manage the Resource Center and is taking volunteer sign ups here. 

A quick reminder that we continue to remain in an extremely active hurricane season through the end of November.

COVID Update: Phase 3.2

Phase 3.2 goes into effect on Saturday at 6am. Click here to read about all the changes being made. Already read through the changes, and have more questions related to Phase 3.2 and how decisions are made? Check out our FAQs section on the website. 

Celebrate Halloween Safely in NOLA

Public health guidelines will continue to apply including mask usage, social distancing, and limits on gathering sizes.

Trick-or-treating tips:

• Trick-or-treating should be limited to small groups with masking and social distancing between people who do not live together.
• While trick-or-treating, it's important to apply hand sanitizer occasionally while handling candy and other treats.
• Consider limiting groups to the sidewalk area so that kids can approach doors one at a time or only one group at a time.

• Residents providing treats should ensure they are sterile and okay to hand out. If possible, residents should wearing surgical gloves while handling treats. Consider leaving candy sitting out to limit face-to-face contact.

Some neighborhood groups are considering alternate methods of handing out treats, or activities in general, such as replacing trick-or-treating with a scavenger hunt. 

Remember, celebrate Halloween safely, and we'll get through this together. 

Read more

NOLA Ready is the City of New Orleans' emergency preparedness campaign, managed by the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. 

This message contains emergency preparedness information. Emergency alerts are sent through a separate program. To sign up for emergency alerts, text your zip code to 888777 or go to ready.nola.gov/alerts.