A COVID-19 vaccine campaign shouldn’t have been necessary in Warren County.

In our view, there were better uses of federal stimulus money than a campaign to convince county residents that the earth is indeed round and that COVID-19 vaccines are indeed safe.

But, unfortunately, the campaign is necessary. As was the case last winter, COVID-19 cases are surging in Warren County. Warren General Hospital officials said more than 90% of inpatient cases coming into the hospital for COVID-19 complications are unvaccinated.

The hospital is running out of space and trying to get more ventilators to care for patients.

“We are in a critical state right now,” said Rick Allen, hospital CEO. “For serious cases there’s practically nowhere else to go. The other hospitals in the region are also completely maxed out.”

Roughly 41% of county residents are fully vaccinated, with 48% having received at least one dose. That number is far too low.

It’s possible to be critical of state overreach throughout the pandemic and, at the same time, realize that COVID-19 is a serious health issue, not the least of which is lack of space in our hospitals for other health emergencies like heart attacks.

Get vaccinated so that we can be through these COVID-19 surges once and for all.