Sioux Falls' public health director wants city to be at 80% vaccinated against COVID. Is it realistic?

Trevor J. Mitchell
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

As of Tuesday, 47% of the 259,153 people in the Sioux Falls metro area have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the South Dakota Department of Health.

And when you count anyone who's received at least one dose of the vaccine, you get 129,090 people — a total that's plateaued in recent months, given the area crossed 100,000 people vaccinated in early April. 

If you remove children under the age of 12, though, who are currently not eligible to receive the vaccine, the area's vaccination rate jumps to 61%. But with emergency use authorization of the vaccine for children ages 5-11 and ages 2-5 expected later this fall, the city's eligible vaccination rate will soon drop.

So it's an ambitious-sounding goal when the city's new public health director, Charles Chima, says he'd like to see 70% or even 80% of the city's population vaccinated. Health department data is released every Wednesday.

Is that goal even realistic? Chima, who took over the position in June after the retirement of Jill Franken, says he's not even interested in using the word.

"The key question is not what is realistic." Chima said. "It's what we need to do. And I think we absolutely need to."

More:Biden says kids under 12 could be eligible for COVID vaccines in weeks. That's not likely.

Pointing out that nearly all hospitalizations and deaths occurring from COVID-19 are among people who are unvaccinated, Chima said his biggest fear is for children.

Sioux Falls public health director Dr. Charles Chima speaks during an interview on Monday, July 12, at the Sioux Falls Health Department offices.

"Children less than 12 years who are not eligible for any of the vaccines right now, they're helpless," he said. "They depend on those of us who are eligible for vaccines to protect them."

Those fears compound when you add in the upcoming school year, the weather getting colder and the fact that the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is significantly more transmissible than other variants, has been found in South Dakota.

"I'm having sleepless nights," Chima confessed.

More: Council approves Charles Chima as Sioux Falls’ new public health director

The plan to get those numbers higher is multifaceted, he said. The department is working on engaging with people through surveys and focus groups to discern their fears, what they're unclear on and where any hesitancy may be coming from.

Mayor Paul TenHaken said while he was grateful to those in the community who have taken the vaccine, the city needs unvaccinated individuals to take advantage of the various vaccination opportunities in Sioux Falls.

"There is still work ahead of us to get our population to the 70% vaccinated rate," TenHaken said.

TenHaken also noted the city had been running a multilingual campaign aimed at factual vaccine information since March.

"It's becoming less and less (about) access challenges, and more and more about other forms of barriers," Chima said.

And he wants to get past those barriers sooner rather than later.

Sioux Falls public health director Dr. Charles Chima speaks during an interview on Monday, July 12, at the Sioux Falls Health Department offices.

"Do we want to go into the fall, risking mask mandates, risking shutdowns, risking, you know, students having an interruption in their coursework?" Chima asked. "Or do we want to go in with that confidence, that our level of protection is strong enough that we don't expect any surges?"

Chima said he's optimistic the city can solve the problem and boost vaccination rates without getting to that point. But it is something that needs buy-in from everyone, he added.

"We've made good progress. We've made really good progress, and we're in a good place," Chima said. "But for it to continue to be in a good place and be in a better place, we need to do more."