As the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, Massachusetts health officials are looking to increase a plateauing rate of new vaccinations against the coronavirus.
At a pop-up clinic in Stoughton, only seven people turned out to get vaccinated Thursday.
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Joel Marin said he'd been hesitant, but the clinic coming to his neighborhood helped, and so did his family.
"My wife saw the flyer," said Marin. "She's pregnant, so I wanted to do it for the baby's sake and our sake. This was a good opportunity to do it, right next to home."
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Over 70% of Massachusetts residents have already had at least one shot, but the vaccination rate has been dropping.
Nationwide, it was down 54% last week, even as the dangerous Delta variant continues to spread.
"I am concerned about the general trend," said Dr. Cassandra Pierre from Boston Medical Center.
She's urging people to get vaccinated, as the Delta variant is hitting the unvaccinated community the hardest.
More on breakthrough COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts
"It seems like a blinking red warning sign to get vaccinated, and people are not necessarily hearing that message," said Pierre.
The number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled daily over the last three weeks across the country, NBC News reported.
"The virus is still going around even though people are vaccinated," said nurse Gisela Desrosiers of Purple Shield Medical, which was administering the Stoughton clinic.
"The blinking red warning sign for people who are unvaccinated is seeing these undervaccinated communities having increased hospitalizations," said Pierre.
In Massachusetts, most of the new cases in the last two weeks are being seen in younger people, especially in the 20-29-year-old age bracket.
She was hoping for a better turnout as she fights misinformation.
"We wish we had a little bit more," said Desrosiers. "Just to pass out the word, people are still afraid, we got some protesters here so it kind of scares people away."
