‘Talk to your doctor’ as Embry urges two age groups with low vaccination rates to get inoculated

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josh-embry-11-06

The Grayson County Health Department has released vaccine information for two age groups that are lagging well behind ideal percentages.

GCHD Director Josh Embry said two age groups are currently under the 40 percent vaccination threshold, as 12- to 17-year-old residents have the lowest vaccination rate in Grayson County, with only 31 percent receiving at least one dose of the vaccine.

“That’s very, very low,” Embry said. “Talk to (your) pediatricians if you have any questions; talk to those medical providers and see if they can give you the information you need to make that decision.”

The other age group with low vaccination numbers are 18- to 29-year-old residents, as between 36 and 39 percent of that age group have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Embry.

“Again, talk to your doctor if you have questions about the vaccine. Hopefully you can get the information that you want; (your) questions answered,” Embry stated. “Of course, we’re willing to answer those questions as well. (But) the gold standard is (your) medical provider. You go to your medical provider for everything else, why not trust that person on the vaccine as well?”

Embry on Wednesday additionally noted the number of COVID-related deaths in people under 60 are rising with the advent of the Delta variant.

“One of the things we’ve seen with the Delta variant that is particularly alarming (are) the amount of deaths in (people in their) 40s and 50s,” he said. “Previously, we didn’t see as many deaths in those populations. Now we’re seeing more deaths in those age groups, it’s very concerning.”

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@105.com