More than 7 million people in the United States have been vaccinated with the Covid vaccine
According to data provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 7 million Americans have received at least one dose of the latest vaccines. These figures were shared by HHS in an announcement last Thursday.
The CDC issued recommendations for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to everyone 6 months and older as of September 12. Additionally, an updated vaccine from Novavax was made available this month and recommended for people 12 and older.
However, adoption of the booster has slowed down compared to last year when the bivalent booster was introduced. As of October 12, 2022, approximately six weeks after CDC approval, more than 18 million people had received a dose of this booster. As of May, about 56.5 million people had been vaccinated, representing about 17% of the U.S. population.
One of the main reasons for this update of COVID-19 vaccines is the need to address the coronavirus variants that are currently circulating. Nearly 14 million doses have been shipped to pharmacies and other vaccination sites, and HHS reports that 91% of Americans ages 12 and older can access vaccines within a five-mile radius of their homes.
Additionally, more than 710,000 vaccines have been ordered through the CDC’s Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines for half of American children.
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In addition to the concern about low vaccination rates among children, there are a few issues with the current vaccination schedule that could be due to vaccine distribution delays. During the start of the fall vaccination campaign, many people reported difficulties finding doses or faced problems with health insurance coverage.
Health insurance coverage
Compared to the previous year, when the government was in charge of the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, this year the distribution has shifted to the private market.
There is also growing concern that many older adults are not receiving the new Covid-19 vaccine or getting vaccinated against flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This year marks the first time that the United States has vaccines available to combat these three respiratory diseases: COVID-19, flu and RSV.
Lori Tremmel Freeman, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, expressed concern about the need to protect seniors. She says these vaccines can help keep people from getting sick, going to the hospital, or even dying, especially if they have any underlying health issues.
