Two legislators are asking North Dakota s Health Department to end phone calls to residents that inform them of how and where to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccine providers are trying to encourage more North Dakotans to get a COVID-19 shot as demand plateaus, but many people remain skeptical of the available vaccines.
Public health departments and local hospitals told the Tribune that they re trying to reach out to the community to get people who haven t been vaccinated in for a jab. The state Health Department is planning a mass media campaign to increase vaccination rates, as well.
Providers attribute the drop in demand to several factors, including a lack of convenience and concerns about vaccine safety. They ve also heard that others prefer to wait and see while the people they know get vaccinated.
The COVID-19 battle is back on the rise in North Dakota, thanks to the presence of new variants which are more transmissible, according to state and local health professionals.
In February, the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) announced the new variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus first detected in the United Kingdom was identified in positive specimens from two individuals in North Dakota.
âThis variant strain is thought to be more contagious which reinforces the importance of continuing to wear a mask, physical distancing, staying home when youâre sick, getting tested, and quarantining when youâve been exposed to someone who has tested positive,â said Kirby Kruger, Disease Control Director for the NDDoH, when the announcement was made. âGetting the vaccine when itâs your turn is another great way to prevent the spread of the variant strain.â
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