COVID-19: Millions Of Americans Miss Second Dose Of Vaccine

After mistrust of Covid-19 vaccines, the US authorities are facing a new challenge: fully vaccinating those who have received their first injection. In the United States, 5 million Americans missed their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or about 8% of those who received the first dose, reveals the New York Times Sunday April 25, citing official figures from the CDC, the federal public health agency.

A phenomenon that has increased markedly in recent weeks, which worries the authorities. Other than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it takes at least two injections to be fully immunized. “A single dose triggers a weaker immune response and could make you more vulnerable to variants,” recalls the newspaper. In interviews conducted by the CDC, some hold back to the second dose say they fear side effects, others that they feel sufficiently protected with one dose.

Appointments canceled

“Such reactions were expected”, underlines the New York Times, but other obstacles also disrupted the vaccination campaign. Many Americans have encountered problems in wanting to receive their second dose: appointments canceled, no vaccine available on their arrival, Moderna instead of Pfizer or vice versa … The drugstore chain Walgreens has reportedly experienced many hiccups in its management of appointments and stocks, but she ensures that these problems have been resolved.

Faced with organizational problems, some have probably given up. Not easy for everyone to schedule their appointment on time, recalls Elena Cyrus, epidemiologist at the University of Central Florida. “It’s complicated for people who don’t have access to reliable transport or who have a job with inflexible hours. ”

The student problem

To avoid losing more people en route, states are organizing themselves by contacting patients to convince them to go for their second injection or by putting doses aside for them. However, the Biden administration recalls that “8% [de deuxièmes doses manquées, NDLR] is a rather low rate compared to other vaccines that require multiple doses, ”according to NBC News.

In the coming weeks, another obstacle could arise: many students, recently eligible for the vaccine, will have left their campus between the two doses and will therefore have to plan their second injection in a place sometimes very far from that of the first. A new logistical challenge that some states are trying to anticipate so as not to slow down the pace of the vaccination campaign. The United States has already vaccinated 28.9% of its population, and more than 140 million Americans (42.5%) have already received at least one dose.


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