This interview is from SDPB's daily public-affairs show, In the Moment, hosted by Lori Walsh.
Active COVID-19 cases in South Dakota continue to rise, and 215 people are currently hospitalized. Dr. Joshua Crabtree is with Sanford Health. He says unvaccinated people make up the vast majority of newly reported deaths and hospitalizations.
"I'm talking 90% of those that are hospitalized, in the ICU and ventilated would be unvaccinated."
He says disinformation and misinformation are slowing the pace of vaccinations.
"You can trust it. The vaccine has been given more than 4.5 billion times around the world with minimal reactions, let alone severe reactions to that."
Crabtree expects case numbers to peak in the Sioux Falls region near the end of September/early October.
The South Dakota Department of Health says the more the virus that causes COVID-19 circulates in a community, the more opportunities it has to transform into variants that can spread more easily. They say the best way to stop the spread and further mutation of the coronavirus is by getting vaccinated.
Find a vaccine: https://vaccines.gov
