BUFFALO (WBEN) - According to the Mayo Clinic's vaccine tracker, nearly 62% of the U.S. population has received one dose of the vaccine, while roughly 52% is fully vaccinated - still significantly under the 80% vaccination goal threshold.
Erie County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein said Friday the county is well above the national rate, but she added there's still considerable work to do, considering the continued rise of the delta variant.
"Sixty-nine percent of Erie County residents who are 18 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and about 65% of adults are fully vaccinated," said Burstein. "That's good progress; however, with the delta variant, we need those numbers to go up."
Overall, Burstein expressed concern about COVID numbers in the county, especially with school starting in less than two weeks.
"We're really not in a good place with COVID19," says Dr. Gale Burstein. "We're really worried because it's the summer and COVID is a seasonal virus and we should be seeing lower numbers right now just like last year. Also, school hasn't started yet and the weather isn't colder yet, and we're doing things outside, and the numbers are still high."
Many people who have been hesitant to receive the vaccine have previously cited the fact that the FDA hadn't fully authorized it's use, but that changed last week with the Pfizer vaccine. Burstein, however, said there wasn't enough data yet to show if the authorization actually caused an uptick in vaccination numbers in the ensuing days.
"I've heard the word 'hesitancy,' and that's been used a lot, but I've also heard the word 'resistance,' for vaccinations," said Niagara County Public Health Director San Stapleton. "I think some people have dug in even further. Some of the reason people might have been using to not get vaccinated, like the FDA approval, once those things start reducing the hesitancy, people say, 'Oh, well now I have to come up with some other reasons because those aren't valid anymore.'"
Stapleton, however, did note they're finding they need to go to where people are as opposed to letting people come to them to get vaccinated.
"We are going to start offering the third dose to people who are immuno-compromised...and then the boosters are being offered, so as we go to the Peach Festival, as we go to different events, festivals and so on, we'll be offering the ability to not only get their first and second vaccination, but also able to get their boosters," said Stapleton. "
