There are fewer people showing up for COVID-19 vaccinations in South Dakota.
Dr. Shankar Kurra is vice president of medical affairs at Monument Health. He says the state’s vaccination ranking has dropped.
“That puts us at 25th if you ranked us in all 50 states. We’re right in the middle. We’re kind of an average state right now even though we started strong. We have a long way to go.”
More than half of South Dakotans 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Kurra says most older residents are vaccinated. But that’s not the case for all age groups.
“We have 90 percent of 65 and older folks in the state of South Dakota having at least one dose. Unfortunately, it’s not the same case from the ages 18 through 54. That group is at 50 percent. The new group, 12 to 18, they just started so they are about 10 percent for the state.”
Kurra says South Dakotans 12 and older should get the shots as soon as possible. He says vaccines can prevent severe symptoms and death from COVID-19. They are also quite effective against variant strains of the virus.
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