INDIANAPOLIS (AP): With the surge in COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant expected to continue in the coming weeks, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Indiana Hospital Association urged Hoosiers on Thursday to get vaccinated.

The group said that getting vaccinated will help the state’s health care facilities stressed by the wave of coronavirus cases operate as needed and also help businesses avoid shutdowns.

“We have never had this many total patients in our hospitals and we will soon match or surpass the greatest number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic,” IHA President Brian Tabor said during a news conference Thursday. “Serious staffing shortages persist throughout the health care system and our capacity is extremely strained. The vast majority of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Indiana are unvaccinated.”

While the Indiana Chamber said it does not support government mandates for COVID-19 vaccinations and believes such an action should be “exclusively an employer’s choice,” the organization announced it has partnered with Franciscan Health to offer free Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine clinics on site to employers in all 92 Indiana counties. Both the initial vaccines and boosters are available.