In data presented by the CDC, COVID-19 vaccination rates in rural communities are lower than those in urban areas. Of those still hesitant of receiving a vaccine, Dr. Harley Brooks, Chief Medical Officer and Regional Medical Director of Specialty Services at OSF HealthCare in Galesburg, Monmouth, and Kewanee, informs it could be due to the fact they have not been seriously impacted by COVID-19:
“For young adults and teens, good results have been found from incentivizing the vaccine as a way to return to social activities and extracurricular activities such as sports. That message doesn’t seem to have the same impact on adults who are against getting vaccinated. We’ve also found circumstances in which teens have been influencing their parents to get the COVID-19 vaccine. For those who are a hard no, it’s often because they don’t know someone who has been seriously impacted or died. Unfortunately, if the variants, including the Delta variant, that are circulating among the unvaccinated population accelerate the spread, that will change and that might be the hard lesson we have to learn. We are working desperately to avoid that kind of surge if possible.”
Dr. Brooks informs Illinois is close to hitting the 70% benchmark of the population being fully vaccinated by the 4th of July.
