OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Well-known former state senator Ernie Chambers got his second shot of the coronavirus vaccine publicly on Wednesday to encourage other people to get the shots.

The 83-year-old, who was forced out of office in January by term limits, received his second dose of the Moderna vaccine Wednesday at a health center in northeast Omaha.

“This is so important to me that Black people, Latino people, older people get information from a source they might have confidence in,” Chambers, who is Black, said to the Omaha World-Herald. “There are people among those groups who have confidence in me and what I say. ... I cannot find the words strong enough to encourage people to get the vaccination. And my view is the greatest evidence of my belief is the fact that I am getting the vaccine myself.”

The state said 463,272 doses of the vaccines have now been administered across Nebraska, and nearly 11% of the state’s population has now been vaccinated.

State health officials said that 1,826 cases of the virus and 37 deaths were reported last week. There have now been 201,608 cases and 2,091 deaths in the state since the pandemic began.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased over the past two weeks, going from 444.86 new cases per day on Feb. 17 to 260.86 new cases per day on Wednesday