City, business and health care leaders are urging the Lewiston community to get vaccinated, get their booster shots and wear a mask indoors amid a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Mayor Carl Sheline signed a proclamation on Monday to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines, booster shots and masks. The proclamation doesn't mandate masks for Lewiston residents. It simply encourages them to wear one.
Sheline says getting vaccinated is the best way Lewiston residents can help their local businesses, health care workers and neighbors.
"I've talked with employers all over the city, and they've been dealing with quarantines and isolations and the resulting disruptions for too long now. Protecting our workforce is so important to our local economy," he says.
Douglas Smith is the chief medical officer for Saint Mary's Health System in Lewiston, who joined Sheline in a virtual press conference.
"Even though we're tired of masks and everything else, I think it's time to sort of double down, really do our best to make sure we're protecting ourselves and others, and most importantly, get vaccinated," he says.
In Lewiston, 67% of Lewiston residents are vaccinated, and Sheline says 60% of that group also had their booster shots.
