Marion County health leader encourages shots after FDA approves Pfizer vaccine
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Dr. Virginia Caine, Marion County public health director, on Wednesday, urged anyone who was waiting to get vaccinated to get the shot now that the Pfizer vaccine has full approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Marion County Public Health Department says new cases in children for the first time outnumber new cases in adults, and some of these kids aren’t eligible to get vaccinated. Health officials are urging adults to help protect everyone by getting vaccinated.
The health department says the surge in cases is driven by the highly contagious and more severe delta variant of COVID-19, which is now causing nearly all infections in the U.S.
To encourage people to get their shots, the health department held a pop-up vaccination clinic on Monument Circle on Wednesday.
Caine says they’re trying to work with vendors to increase testing. She encourages mask mandates and is asking business owners to require masks for people indoors and encourage them to get their shots.
“We’re very encouraged about this approval, and it also states that this vaccine has undergone the most rigorous evaluations,” Caine said. “We really want to encourage all schools to please wear the mask — your staff, your students, any child over the age of 2 — in order to protect those children who are unable to be vaccinated.”
Caine says she’s confident that more people will get vaccinated now that the FDA gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine.
She added that they’re planning to have a more robust media campaign in September that will encourage people to get vaccinated.