While the CDC recommended COVID-19 boosters for older Americans in October, more than 33 percent of those 65 and older who completed their initial vaccinations still haven't gotten a booster shot, Kaiser Health News reported May 12.
"The booster program has been botched from day one," said Eric Topol, MD, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego. "This is one of the most important issues for the American pandemic, and it has been mismanaged," he told KHN.
Health experts have been especially disappointed over the rollout among older Americans, who remain at highest risk for severe illness and death. An analysis of CDC data by Kaiser Family Foundation showed 31 percent of January COVID-19 deaths among older Americans were among those who hadn't gotten a booster. "If the CDC would say, 'This could save your life,' that would help a lot," Dr. Topol said.
Critics of the rollout point to faulty messaging and confusing definitions as factors behind why more older Americans haven't gotten a booster. For instance, the CDC defines "fully vaccinated" as receiving an initial one- or two-dose vaccine, while getting a booster (or a second booster for those eligible) is considered as being "up to date."
Ongoing debate about the future cadence of COVID-19 boosters is another potential factor.
David Grabowski, PhD, a professor of healthcare policy at Boston-based Harvard Medical School, pointed out the lack of the federal government's involvement in coordinating the delivery of boosters to nursing homes.
"I would have these centralized clinics go back to get residents and staff boosted all at once," similar to the way the government led initial mass vaccination efforts, he told KHN. "That strikes me as a no-brainer."