Florida’s peak week for vaccinations is similar to what we’ve seen across the country. In the second week of April, over 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccinations took place. For comparison’s sake, 630,000 vaccinations took place last week – or barely more than half of what occurred a month ago. It’s not a case of vaccine supplies being an issue, you can readily set an appointment anywhere in Florida. It’s not because almost all Floridians who’re eligible for a vaccine have received one.
As of yesterday’s vaccine report, approximately 55% of adults have been vaccinated. Notably, that number remains well below the 70% threshold which is expected to be reached before hitting significant hesitancy. The 70% threshold is also important in the context of perceived herd immunity as it’s often considered the entry-level for achieving herd immunity. So, if vaccines are readily available yet vaccinations are rapidly slowing while millions of people haven’t been vaccinated but previously said they intended to...what’s going on?
It’s too early to know for sure, but there’s increasing evidence that those who’ve been fully vaccinated are psyching out those who’ve yet to become fully vaccinated. In the first two months of vaccinations, only 3% of those vaccinated with the first dose of a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine missed their second dose. That number has jumped to over 8% as of the end of April and appears to still be rising in May.
The most recent AP survey of planned vaccinations showed 34% of Americans are now hesitant about receiving a vaccine. That’s 4% higher than the previous survey and the highest at any point since surveying began in December. The vaccines have proven to be highly effective. An ever-increasing number of people skipping their second doses along with the highest hesitancy rate yet among the unvaccinated would seemingly point back to the shared experiences of those who’ve been fully vaccinated.
Look on social media for example and you’ll find no shortage of people sharing their stories of bad side effects to the second doses, people suggesting they wouldn’t have been vaccinated if they had it to do over again. People saying, they don’t intend to get a COVID-19 booster shot should one eventually be recommended. So yes, and perhaps ironically, the biggest obstacles to greater vaccination rates are potentially those who are fully vaccinated.
On this note, I’ll offer up that I didn’t experience any meaningful side effects from the first Moderna dose but did feel aches about 30 hours after vaccination for probably about 12 hours. Not fun but not that big of a deal and I’d do it again.
Photo by: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images