MILWAUKEE — As Wisconsin children get ready to head back to school, health officials are vocalizing their concerns.


What You Need To Know

  • The number of tests quadrupled in a couple of days at Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee

  • The majority of people who have tested positive have not been vaccinated, says Hashim Zaibak of Hayat Pharmacy

The CDC reports the delta variant is more contagious than the other virus strains.

"We went for weeks without positive cases so this is very scary," said Hashim Zaibak of Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee. "I'm not trying to scare the community it is different than what we used to see."

Zaibak said they are seeing an increase in both adults and children testing positive for COVID-19. 

"The number of tests quadrupled in a couple of days," he said. "The majority of people who have tested positive have not been vaccinated."

Now, that young adults ages 12 to 18 are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, Zaibakis is seeing an increase in that age group coming in for vaccinations. 

"One of the things with the Pfizer vaccine is that it takes time to work," he explained. "So, the person has to get their first dose, and then three weeks later they get their second dose, and they don't get the full immunity. They don't  get 95% immunity until two weeks later. So we're talking about a total of five weeks. We really want to have the children get vaccinated as quickly as possible so we can get to that five week mark as quickly as possible."

Arian Jazayeri is headed into his freshman year and unlike many of the friends, he chose to get vaccinated. Why?

"To keep other people safe," he said.

Zaibak echoed this sentiment.

"The only way to keep other people and yourself safe is to get vaccinated", Zaibak said. "My concern is those people giving it to people at high risk for diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, that's my concern."