INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Indiana is lagging behind surrounding states for vaccinations and there’s concern about the state going backwards.
The counties closest to Chicago - Lake, Porter, and LaPorte - are on the Indiana Department of Health’s radar, as not a single ZIP code in those counties have reached the 70 percent vaccination rate experts say is needed to reach "herd immunity."
Northern Lake County is seeing some of the worst vaccination rates, the health department said. In Gary, the vaccination rate is just 29 percent; while in Hammond it is 35 percent.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates in other Northwest Indiana ZIP codes mostly were in the 40 to 50 percent range, according to the Indiana Department of Health. In Valparaiso, the vaccination rate it 51 percent, while in Crown Point it is 55 percent and in Schererville it is 53 percent.
But, vaccinations are widely available, so Governor Eric Holcomb was asked about it.
Reporter: How do you encourage people to take advantage of that access if...
"It's a slog, it's a slog, and it's going to be a grind. I can't change reality. There are some people who are just dead set against it. It's there personal responsibility," Holcomb said.
The Mayor of Hammond, Thomas McDermott, told the Northwest Indiana Times, people are taking a big chance and risking their lives.
"It's shocking and bad. I don't understand it," Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said. "It seems to me the unvaccinated people are taking a big chance — they're risking their lives."
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