MILWAUKEE — As the COVID-19 vaccination rate slows across Wisconsin and the rest of the country, Dr. Jeff Pothof, the chief quality and safety officer for UW Health, implored Wisconsinites to seek out a vaccine ASAP, especially as variants continue to spread around the world.

"We understand that these vaccines are incredibly effective, even against variants," Dr. Pothof told Spectrum News 1. "And the risk of adverse events are remarkably low-- single digits per million doses, compared to if a million people got COVID-19, 18,000 of them would die."

In addition to a waning vaccination rate, Dr. Pothof addressed any concerns tied to the COVID-19 vaccines' safety, in part, following an event held by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on Monday, in which five people from across the country said they've experienced ongoing adverse effects after getting vaccinated.

"There's a process in place, both through the clinical trials but also through the CDC, that investigates these adverse events and it is possible we'll see adverse events," Dr. Pofhof added. "[I] think the important thing - the take-home message - is that we're talking about single digits per million people, which is infinitely smaller than the rate that COVID-19 ends up killing people per million."

You can watch the entire interview with Dr. Pothof above.