TriCounty Health Department Director Kirk Benge visited the KLCY studio this week to talk about the upward COVID trend and his hope that those choosing not to get the vaccine will reconsider. With cases spiking, Ashley Regional Medical Center has averaged about 10 people per day needing hospitalized for oxygen. “It’s been constant turnover and the hospital has expressed extreme frustration that more people aren’t getting vaccinated,” shares Benge. “I don’t really fault anybody if you were waiting and [wanting] to see how things go, to make sure things are safe, [or were] worried about side effects but given what we are seeing in the community now I’d really encourage everyone to really reconsider if they haven’t been vaccinated yet why they haven’t been and really think about it and do some research.” There have been about 30,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the TriCounty area but only about half are fully vaccinated. Guidelines have been updated and even if you missed the time to get your second dose you can go in and get it now, regardless of when you got the first one. For more information, visit www.tricountyhealth.com.
