Vanderburgh County Health Department Begins “Back the Vax” Vaccine Promotion Campaign
Health experts have preached for months the best way to put the pandemic behind us is to get vaccinated. However, thanks to the internet and social media, there's a ton of misinformation circulating being taken as fact leading to many choosing to remain unvaccinated. In an effort to provide accurate, factual information on how the vaccines work, their safety, and the benefit to not only individuals but to everyone, the Vanderburgh County Health Department is launching a new campaign aimed at doing just that with the hope those who are on the fence will sign up to receive the vaccine.
A couple of months ago it seemed that we were turning the corner on the COVID pandemic. People were lining up to get the vaccine which in turn started to bring case numbers down, and life was slowly starting to get back to normal. But over time, the number of people getting vaccinated went down as the people who wanted them got them, and those who decided they didn't want it, well, didn't. Unfortunately, this opened the door for the Delta variant of the virus to take hold and become the dominant strain across the country leading to another surge in cases. That includes here in the Tri-State where nearly every county in the area is seeing such a consistent rise in numbers, the Centers for Disease Control has us listed as an area of high transmission.
The goal of the Health Department's "Back the Vax...with Facts" campaign is two-fold. The first is as an outreach program to individuals who are currently unvaccinated and provide answers to any questions or concerns they have with the vaccine. The second, and equally important, if not more so, is to vaccinate those who are interested either at the Health Department office on Mulberry Street in downtown Evansville or through the city's vaccine bus which will continue to run throughout the summer months. The campaign will share the bus's weekly schedule and set up at upcoming community events.
For more information on "Back the Vax...with Facts," follow the campaign on social media at the following links:
A website for the campaign is also in development that will feature information on the vaccine, including its effect on slowing the spread of the virus.
I was initially hesitant about getting the vaccine when they were first made available at the start of the year. However, after doing some research, I felt comfortable getting it once my age group was eligible in mid-to-late March. I received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine and was considered fully vaccinated in late April. Outside of some soreness in my arm after the first dose and feeling a bit run down the day after my second dose, I've had no ill effects from receiving the vaccine. I'm a big believer in the vaccine being our best shot (no pun intended) at putting the pandemic behind us for good. If you're unvaccinated, I encourage you to read through the information provided by the Back the Vax campaign through the links above to get the facts and make a decision that's best for you.
[Source: Vanderburgh County Health Department Press Release]