Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents are showing up for their first coronavirus shots at a slightly increased pace, with the average number of first doses of the vaccine given out each day across the states climbing modestly.

With the delta variant of the virus causing outbreaks in other states and public health officials in every corner of the nation urging Americans to get vaccinated, the national increase could be in response to fear of the variant — as health officials stress that enough inoculations could stem its spread — and some of those public health efforts.

may be more motivated to get the vaccine with the number of COVID-19 cases going up again and the highly transmissible delta variant spreading across the country,” said Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesperson Mark O’Neill.

Since it takes five weeks to become fully vaccinated, public health officials are urging young people to get their shots now.

“If we get our young people vaccinated, we’ll be in a better place,” Chester City Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said in a recent interview.

“If you haven’t been vaccinated yet,” said O’Neill of the Pennsylvania health department, “there is no better time than now to do so.”