U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams visited Illinois Tuesday to tout the recent developments in COVID-19 vaccinations and urge Illinoisans to celebrate the upcoming holiday as safely as possible in order to maintain positive trends in the state.

“We are fortunately moving in the right direction here in Illinois and in Chicago, but the numbers still aren't where we need them to be. We need to stay the course. Two words for today: vaccines and vigilance. We should be incredibly excited about the fact that we now have two different vaccines authorized for use. There will be 7.9 million vaccinations that go out this week between the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines,” Adams said.

During his visit, Adams joined Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike and Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady at St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago, where they witnessed health care workers receiving vaccinations.

Adams urged Illinoisans to celebrate the upcoming holidays at home with the people in their “bubble,” if possible. He asked those experiencing COVID-19 fatigue to stay the course.

“I want you to know that I am actually incredibly optimistic, based on the two vaccines now being available. We do have a finish line in sight. I want you to remain vigilant because it would be a real shame if we finally had the tools to end this pandemic, but then we couldn’t be patient for just a little longer,” he said.

In response to questions from reporters, Adams said that the skepticism about vaccines that often come from black and brown communities is real and justified, given the historical facts behind events such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. However, he said both federal and local governments are doing as much as they can to provide information so that individuals in those communities can be confident in the vaccine’s safety. Adams recently publicly received a dose of the vaccine alongside Vice President Mike Pence.