WORCESTER, Mass. - Worcester’s Department of Public Health wants to know why people have or haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

A new survey invites Worcester residents to voice their opinions. It asks people questions including if they've learned information about COVID-19 or the vaccine which caused them to not get vaccinated and if the health department could do anything to help people feel comfortable with receiving the vaccine.​

"There is more push back on vaccinations than there has been in the past, which is a really unfortunate side effect of the way that vaccines were pushed out or made available, and a lingering mistrust from that process or those messages that were reaching communities” said acting director of public health Zach Dyer. “So there is a lot of work that we need to do to make sure people are healthy and protected against not just COVID but a lot of other illnesses that are out there."

Dyer said less than 2% of Worcester residents have received the Bivalent booster and 11% have received a second booster, which at this point is recommended for everyone. He recommended everyone get the vaccine before the holiday season, where an increase in cases is possible.