So far, few people are stepping up to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine, according to initial data from the CDC tracking demand for the new vaccines.
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So far, few people are rushing to get the latest COVID-19 vaccines, according to the first data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracking demand for the new vaccines. NPR health reporter Rob Stein has more.
Rob Stein: Remember when people were frantically trying to make appointments and lining up along the street to get the COVID-19 vaccine? Those days are long gone. Vaccines have become less and less popular. And so far this year, that trend seems to be continuing. According to CDC data released today, only 2.8% of adults have received one of the updated vaccines since they became available about a month ago. And less than a quarter of them plan to get a new shot. Dr. Marcus Plescia is the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Local Health Officials.
MARCUS PLESCIA: It’s unfortunate that we’re not seeing as many COVID vaccinations as we would like across any group.
STEIN: But it’s not surprising at all. Most people are no longer worried about getting seriously ill or dying from COVID-19. And there’s still a lot of misinformation and anxiety about the vaccines, even though they’re very safe and effective at preventing hospitalization and death.
Plescia: Obviously there’s less urgency for people, and I get that. I mean, it’s less scary, so that’s a good thing. We have a lot more control over COVID-19 than we had before. We can’t let our guard down.
STEIN: COVID-19 remains a huge threat. Many people have lost their jobs, children are off school, and hundreds of people are being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19 every week. COVID-19 remains a bigger cause of death than the flu. Claire Hannan is executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers.
Claire Hannan: We’re still seeing hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, especially among older people and people with underlying health conditions. So it’s alarming. We have a lot of work to do to educate people about the importance of the vaccine.
Stein: So far, the new vaccine formulations have been updated and appear to be pretty well matched to the circulating strains, even though new variants keep emerging. The federal government is no longer covering the cost of the vaccine for most people, but the bottom line is that people can still get the COVID vaccine for free from in-network pharmacies and doctors. And the government is spending millions of dollars to provide vaccines to at least some of the uninsured. After all, we’re expecting a new wave of COVID infections this winter, along with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. From Rob Stein, NPR News.
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