Americans Wanting to Get Vaccinated Seems to be Declining
Data suggests numbers keep dropping; President Joe Biden reintroduces potential solutions.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Apr 29, 2021
From pleas of desperate vaccine searches to an aggressive government outreach for people to get the vaccine, Americans are on the decline of scheduling their appointments. According to an article, more than one half of U.S. adults have at least one vaccine shot. However, according to data on daily vaccinations from the CDC, the seven-day average count of people receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine dropped slightly around two weeks ago.
During the first dose of the vaccine during April 11, nearly 1.9 million people a day came to get their first dose. For April 16, it was around 1.47 million. The CDC data shows the flattening over the past couple of weeks interrupted the exponential growth over the last few months. The decline started one day before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was suspended, suggesting the nationwide pause might have been a contributing factor.
Most experts say there is no sole factor in the drop. It could just be because most Americans who were actively seeking out the vaccine already got theirs.
"What happened is we had this initial big wave of demand, especially among people that were most vulnerable," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor. But the desire to get a vaccine is less among young people, "so even if eligibility opens up, there's potentially less demand," he added.
President Joe Biden addressed in a speech that 200 million shots have been administered since he’s been in office, saying there’s still a lot of work to be done in the vaccination process in a way that encourages all Americans to get the shot.
"The vaccine is free. It's convenient. And it's increasingly available. But I know that isn't enough," Biden said.
President Biden listed policy solutions like increased vaccine supply to local pharmacies, employees getting paid time off to get their vaccines and time to recover from any side effects and make sure that 90 percent of Americans are within five miles of a vaccination site.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.