93.3 KWTO Keeping Watch Over the Ozarks
The City of Springfield is partnering with CoxHealth and Mercy to ask the community to take the Finish Strong pledge as healthcare providers prepare for the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The pledge can be taken on the city’s website, on a page that provides information about the COVID-19 vaccine and when it might be available in the community.
The Finish Strong pledge asks that we:
- Watch our distance
- Wash our hands often
- Wear a mask anytime we are with people outside our own household
- And get the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available.
Infectious disease experts from both healthcare systems addressed the vaccine at a press conference Thursday, stating their belief in the vaccine and that it would be safe for the community.
“I think now is the time when we know enough,” Trotman said. “We know enough safety data. We know enough efficacy data, and we have a trajectory for this disease that’s not good. COVID-19 isn’t going to go away without a massive intervention. This is going to help prevent severe disease, deaths and hospitalizations—that’s our goal.”
Springfield-Greene County Health Department head Clay Goddard urged the community to stay the course.
“It’s an exciting day that is a turning point on a long, hard year, but we owe it to one another to do everything we can to prevent the spread of this illness, especially for those most vulnerable,” Goddard said. “A vaccine is on the way. We have entered the final leg of this marathon, but I hope you will join me in our efforts to finish strong.”