Dr. Adams addresses vaccine frustrations, the need for ‘taking it to the streets’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Dr. Jerome Adams, a former U.S. surgeon general, tweeted Monday that some people are frustrated by the three-dose vaccine regimen.
Adams, WISH-TV’s medical expert, said on Monday’s News 8 at 6 p.m. that “there are lots of people who feel or at least are expressing that they feel the vaccines aren’t working because it was two doses and now it’s three, and you hear about Israel talking four doses.
“Here’s what I say to those people. There are plenty of vaccines that require multiple doses. This vaccine, similar to the hepatitis vaccine, in hindsight should have always been built as a three-dose vaccine. So for people out there, I understand the messaging has been frustrating. Part of that is because we were building the plane as we were flying it, and we knew the vaccines were safe. We knew they would save lives. We didn’t yet know that we would need three … doses, but get your third dose and then we should be in a good place until the fall comes around. That that’s my opinion.”
Adams says he understands how some people feel like their undergoing COVID-19 whiplash. “And again, that comes back to seeing the sausage made in real time. And I’ve implored the federal government to be much better about messaging. But I’m also saying to individuals, please don’t let your frustration with the messaging cause you to make a poor decision for your health.”
The former surgeon general also talked about the upcoming closing of a popular vaccination clinic at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds in Noblesville. The county has the state’s highest rate of all 92 counties of fully vaccinated people 5 and older. Adams says he hopes the resources can be moved to areas where the vaccination rates are lower.
“We just need to make sure we’re getting them (vaccinations) to the people who need them the most,” he said.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 64% of Americans are fully vaccinated. To increase that percentage, Adams said, “We’ve got to be more targeted. In the beginning, it was opened up at the fairgrounds, opened up with Lucas Oil (Stadium), and people will come and stand in line, and that’s not the case anymore, and we always knew that wasn’t going to be the case. We need to take it to the streets. We need to take it to the people who have had difficulty getting vaccines. Not all of this is reticence. Some of this is just still people having difficulty accessing these services. If we take it to them, we’ll continue to see vaccinations go up, albeit not as quickly as in the beginning.”