Many Americans in No Rush to Get Bivalent COVID-19 Booster

For weeks, reformulated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters have been available across the United States that aim to protect against newer omicron variants that have sickened millions of people in recent months.

Initial reports, however, suggest Americans are not rushing to get the new vaccines.

While health officials view this as a challenge, some say a drop-off in demand shouldn’t be surprising.

“Back in late 2020 and early 2021 when the vaccine first became available, many Americans were afraid for their life of this virus,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“We were all susceptible to serious illness then. Today, most Americans feel safer, and we’ve got tens of thousands of people screaming in stadiums together at football games. The situation feels different, so it makes sense there’s less urgency to get vaccinated,” Offit told VOA.

Still, the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging people ages 12 and older to get the bivalent booster. In deciding to authorize them, the FDA pointed to data from earlier iterations of COVID-19 vaccines as evidence the bivalent vaccine is safe and will provide additional protection from the most severe symptoms of both the original and more recent coronavirus strains.

In a recent press release, FDA commissioner Robert Califf said, “The COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, continue to save countless lives and prevent the most serious outcomes [hospitalization and death] of COVID-19.

“As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”

Supply exceeding demand

The United Kingdom was the first country to make the bivalent vaccine booster available, doing so in mid-August. After the United States and Canada, the European Union could be next. Earlier this month, the European Medicines Agency (EMC) recommended approving revamped boosters to all 27 EU member states – something that could happen within days.

As of last week, more than 25 million doses of the updated vaccine had been delivered to tens of thousands of sites across the United States, from pharmacies to medical facilities to local government venues operating vaccination sites.

Yet, while more than 80% of the U.S. population has gotten a COVID-19 vaccine since they became publicly available in early 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data last week estimating that just 4.4 million people — approximately 1.5% of the population — had received the bivalent vaccine.

While appointments at vaccination sites were often booked weeks in advance in early 2021, demand for the new booster is low enough that many vaccine providers can accept walk-ins.

Dani Streger, a teacher from Brevard County, Florida, said she got the original vaccine in 2021 but doesn’t see a need to get the bivalent shot.

“I’ve already had COVID, and it wasn’t severe,” Streger told VOA. “People can do whatever they want, but I’m not a high-risk individual, and the bivalent booster seems unnecessary for me at this point.”

While national data paint an overall picture of weak demand, health officials in some states insist plenty of people are eager to get the vaccine.

“We’re still coming down from our sixth and longest-enduring [COVID] surge to date,” Louisiana Department of Health public information officer Mindy Faciane told VOA. “Many Louisianians recently had COVID-19, and there’s still high transmission across the state. Many of our residents had been anxiously awaiting an updated booster shot.”