AURORA, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Illinois Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike was in Aurora on Thursday to receive a coronavirus booster shot, but she was thinking a lot about those who haven’t been vaccinated at all.
It was not lost on Dr. Ngozi Ezike that she was getting her third COVID-19 vaccine shot, while 60 percent of adults in some parts of Aurora’s East Side haven’t even received their first dose of the vaccine.
While the state is gearing up to distribute pediatric vaccines for children ages 5 to 11, there are unvaccinated parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids.
"We are definitely going to be working on putting information through the schools into backpacks, but again, we have to work on the parents. We know the parents have to believe and understand the benefits of this vaccine for themselves, as much as, if not more than for their children," Dr. Ezike said.
Aurora Mayor Richard Ervin also expressed dismay that many people have not even had their first vaccinations.
"Just 40 percent of eligible residents in the 60505 zip code on Aurora's East Side have been vaccinated," Ervin said. "Clearly, we still have work to do."
Dr. Ezike said she and all their partners are emphasizing the need to get vaccinated and “boosterized” as she puts it, and how much the vaccine can get Illinois through the pandemic.
More than 90 percent of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state lately were unvaccinated.
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