ED: A STARTLING NEW STATISTIC FROM THE CDC OFFERS MORE GRIM EVIDENCE OF THE SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS FACING PEOPLE WHO ARE TNO VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. TODD ELLERIN, CHIEF OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT SOUTH SHORE HEALTH. MARIA: YOU'VE TOLD US MANY TIMES BEFORE, THESE VACCINES SAVE LIVES. AND NOW WE'RE LEARNING, PEOPLE WHO AREN'T VACCINATED EAR 97 TIMES REMO LIKELY TO DIE FROM COVID-19 THAN PEOPLE WHO GOT THEIR BOOST.ER THAT'S AN ENORMOUS NUMBER. IS IT CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOREU' SEEING AT SOUTH SHORE? >> IT ABSOLUTELY IS. THE TERM I'M GOING TO USE -- IT MEANS THE SITUATION SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. THIS IS OBVIOUS. E THCDC DATA IS COMPELLING. WE'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS THAT MORE THAN A YEAR, THAT VACCINES ARE SAVING LIV.ES IN THE CDC STUDY THE RISK OF DYING IF YOU'RE UNVACCINATED IS 100 TIMES MORE THAN IF YOU ARE BOOSTED. THE BOOM LINE IS, WE ARE NOT SEEING PATIENTS ENTERING SOUTH SHORE HEALTH WHO DYING OF COVID WHO ARE BOSTONNED. WERE A NOT SEEING BOOSTED PATIENTS DYING OF COVID. ED: THE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING. WE WANT TO SHOW THIS GRAPHIC OF THE 7-DAY AVERAGE OF DAILYEW N CASES IN MASSACHUSETTS. RIGHT NOW IT'S AROUND 3300. LESS THAN A MONTH AGO IT WAS 23,000. THAT A'S STEEP DROP. HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO A LEVEL THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER, QUOTE, SA?FE >> YOU GUYS MENTIONED THIS BEFORE. IT IS DECLINING RIGHTOW N AND THE CURVE LOOKS LIKE THAT ICE PICK THANK GOOD NEWS. REMEMBER SOMETHING, WHAT'S SAFE FOR SOMEONE YOUNGER HEALTHY PERSON MAY NOT BE THE SAME SOMEONE ELDERLY OR ON CHEMOTHERAPY. THE GOOD NEWS IS CASES ARE DECLINING OVER ALL THE OMICRON VARIANT IS MILDER ANTH PREVENTS VARIANT. WE HAVE MORE POPULATION IMMUNITY. WE HAVE TO REACH MORE POPATULNIO IMMUNITY TO PROTECT OURSELVES FOR THE NEXT VARIANT TO COME. MARIA: YOU BELIEVE THERE WILL BE A NEXT VARIA?NT >> I DO. MARIA: I WANTED TO CONFIRM IT. I WAS BEING HOPEFUL YOU WOULD SAY NO. OUR VIEWERS ARE EMAILING QUESTIONS EVERY DAY. I WANT TO GET TO THIS ONE FROM JAYDEN. HOW COME WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT THE FLU ANYMORE? >> THAT'S A REAYLL GOOD QUESTION. I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE IS, LAST YEARWE, REALLY DIDN'T SEE ANY INFLUENZA. IT WAS HISTORICAYLL LOW. THIS PAST FALL AS DELTA WAS DECLINING, WE STARTED TO SEE AN INCREASE IN INFLUENZA THAT MET AN AVERAGE YEAR IN CASES. THERE WAS AN INCREASE. THEN AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME AS OMICRONAS W INCREASING, INFLUENZA HAS REALLY -- FALLEN TO LOW LEVELS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THIS MAY HAVE TO DO WITH OUR BEHAORS,VIOR ME MASKING AS WE SAW THAT SURGE AGAIN IN THE NEXT VARIANT. IT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH VIRAL COMPETITION WHEN WE SEE INCREASING LEVELOFS COVID-19, PERHAPS WE DON'T SEE AS MUCH INFLUENZA. I THINK IT'S GOOD NEWS. WE STILL WANT TO GET THE INFLUENZA VACCINE. ITS I IMPORTANT. WE DON'T KNOW IF INFLUENZA WILL STILL REAR ITS UGLY HEAD AS OMICNRO DEC
The US is lagging on booster shots compared to other western countries
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Updated: 1:59 PM CST Feb 16, 2022
The United States has a booster shot problem.As other nations hurtle ahead in their COVID-19 vaccination programs, lagging uptake in the U.S. of the third vaccine is concerning public health experts.As of Sunday, uptake of the third shot in the United Kingdom (55.4% of the total population), Germany (55%), France (51.1%) and Canada (44%) dwarfed the U.S. figure of 27.6%, according to Our World in Data.Evidence showing high rates of protection against the virus from three doses, and an omicron variant-fueled surge in cases in the U.S., has struggled to convince the American public to take the third shot, CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. According to CNN analysis of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the pace of booster doses going into arms is the lowest it has been in months.Experts say COVID-19 fatigue and the partisan divide, which has plagued America's vaccination campaign, is partly responsible for these figures: A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last month found that 58% of fully vaccinated Democrats who have not had the booster expressed interest in a third dose, compared to just 18% of fully vaccinated Republicans who have not had it.Tracking COVID-19:COVID-19 daily case rates decrease, but thousands are still dying from virus every dayCompanies revert to more normal operations as COVID-19 cases waneGetting vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy can help protect baby, new CDC study suggestsWaning immunity is complicating the situation. Israel began vaccinating at-risk populations and people over 60 with a fourth dose on Jan. 2, and a pre-print study from the country suggests that the extra shot of Pfizer/BioNTech seems to provide better protection from infection and severe illness than three shots of the vaccine.CDC studies released last week showed that there were fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations after the third dose than after the second dose — but its effectiveness declined over time.In the face of waning protection, boosters are key in helping to push the coronavirus to an endemic disease instead of causing pandemic levels of infection, Andy Pekosz, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told CNN.
The United States has a booster shot problem.
As other nations hurtle ahead in their COVID-19 vaccination programs, lagging uptake in the U.S. of the third vaccine is concerning public health experts.
As of Sunday, uptake of the third shot in the United Kingdom (55.4% of the total population), Germany (55%), France (51.1%) and Canada (44%) dwarfed the U.S. figure of 27.6%, .
Evidence showing high rates of protection against the virus from three doses, and an omicron variant-fueled surge in cases in the U.S., has struggled to convince the American public to take the third shot, CNN's Jacqueline Howard reports. According to CNN analysis of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the pace of booster doses going into arms is the lowest it has been in months.
Experts say COVID-19 fatigue and the partisan divide, which has plagued America's vaccination campaign, is partly responsible for these figures: A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last month found that 58% of fully vaccinated Democrats who have not had the booster expressed interest in a third dose, compared to just 18% of fully vaccinated Republicans who have not had it.
Tracking COVID-19:
Waning immunity is complicating the situation. Israel began vaccinating at-risk populations and people over 60 with a fourth dose on Jan. 2, and a pre-print study from the country suggests that the extra shot of Pfizer/BioNTech seems to provide better protection from infection and severe illness than three shots of the vaccine.
CDC studies released last week showed that there were fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations after the third dose than after the second dose — but its effectiveness declined over time.
In the face of waning protection, boosters are key in helping to push the coronavirus to an endemic disease instead of causing pandemic levels of infection, Andy Pekosz, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told CNN.
