Henry County Public Health will not be holding their annual Healthy Halloween Walk this year due to rising COVID-19 cases and concerns for unvaccinated children. This free, family-friendly event has been held each October at East Lake Park since 2013. In 2020 a no-contact event was planned but cancelled due to bad weather and rising COVID-19 cases. “We had hoped to use all of the no-contact plans and increased safety measures we had ready for last year at this year’s event, but the difference this year is that children are getting sick from the delta variant,” states Kelly Carr, Community Outreach Coordinator. “With only about half of our residents vaccinated, we just couldn’t put on an event that could put those kids at risk.”
Public Health urges all eligible residents to get vaccinated. All authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide strong protection against serious illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19. Protecting yourself protects those around you, such as people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. It also protects those who can’t get vaccinated, including infants, young children, or people with immune systems weakened by things like chemotherapy for cancer. Henry County Public Health offers the Moderna and J&J vaccine on a walk-in basis Monday – Friday 8am-3:30pm at their office at 106 N. Jackson St., Mt. Pleasant. There is no cost and no insurance needed. COVID-19 at-home test kits are also available by appointment only. Call 319-385-0779 if you have any questions about the vaccine or would like to request a test kit. Visit HealthyHenryCounty.org/covid for more guidance and information about COVID-19.