Jeremy Hankins receives a COVID-19 shot from Zach Irvin during a COVID-19 and influenza vaccination clinic at Crossett Brook Middle School in Duxbury on Oct. 28, 2023. File photo: Glenn Russell/VTDigger
About 9% of Vermonters have received the latest coronavirus vaccine so far this year, according to a new dashboard from the state Department of Health.
That’s slightly higher than the 6% of Vermonters who received the latest coronavirus vaccine during the same period in 2023, said Meridith Plumpton, the department’s immunization program manager.
He said in an email that the difference is likely due to the vaccine becoming available earlier in August than when it became available in mid-September 2023. By the end of the 2023-24 winter season, about 26% of Vermonters had received the latest coronavirus vaccine.
This is still significantly lower than the 80% who received their first coronavirus vaccine in 2021, and who will receive a booster dose of the first updated “bivalent” coronavirus vaccine in 2022, according to the ministry’s data. That’s slightly lower than the 35% of Vermonters age 5 and older who received it. .
The department’s new dashboard also includes data on flu vaccine uptake. About 12% of Vermonters have received a flu vaccine this year, about the same as this time last year, Plumpton said.
For the first time, the ministry provided data on the newly approved respiratory syncytial virus vaccine. The ministry says about 26% of adults over 75 have received the RSV vaccine. Only 700 pregnant women, infants and young children have been vaccinated this year, but the ministry has not disclosed the percentage in that category.
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Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been trending downward in recent days after rising in August and September, according to the latest departmental monitoring report. Still, for the past three years, cases of coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses have spiked during the winter months.
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Mr Plumpton said vaccines are the “best defense” against these seasonal diseases.
“The (COVID-19) vaccine and the influenza vaccine reduce the severity and severity of illness, even if you do get sick,” she wrote. “It’s important that people realize that the (coronavirus) vaccine and the influenza vaccine are updated annually to cover the variants that are currently in circulation.”
Coronavirus, influenza and RSV vaccines are widely available at Vermont pharmacies. You can see a list of pharmacies administering vaccinations in your area on this federal website or schedule directly from the websites of pharmacy chains like CVS, Walgreens and Kinney Drug. Many primary care provider offices are also offering vaccinations, according to the health department.
The department said Vermont health insurance companies generally must cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccines, and some health care providers are offering low-cost vaccines to uninsured Vermonters through the state’s immunization program. It is said that it is offering. Uninsured people under the age of 65 can also receive a coronavirus or influenza vaccine at their local health department. The agency recommends talking to your health care provider about getting the RSV vaccine.
People who have recently been infected with the coronavirus may consider delaying getting a coronavirus vaccine for up to three months, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More information about the coronavirus, influenza and RSV vaccines can be found on the Department of Health’s website.
