The nation's new COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been off to a slow start, with about 12 million Americans receiving the shots since mid-September, according to an Oct. 24 report from Politico.
That's just under 4% of the population, though CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, told the news outlet the actual figure could be slightly higher due to reporting lags. Overall, she believes the nation is close to being on track to match last year's booster uptake, when about 17% of the population was vaccinated.
Meanwhile, about 16 million people have gotten their flu shot. The CDC director linked higher flu vaccine uptake to familiarity with the annual routine.
"I think there's a lot of folks that say, 'I got the original [COVID-19 vaccines]. Aren't we done here?' Or 'I've had COVID, aren't I protected?'" she told Politico.
"I'm trying to help them understand two important facts: One is that the virus has changed. And this updated vaccine is mapped to those changes in the virus. And then the other fact is we're seeing in the data that your protection from either a previous vaccine or from having COVID before decreases over time."
Across the U.S., there have been numerous reports about supply issues and difficulty accessing the new shots. As of mid-October, many community health centers were still waiting on supplies to arrive. Pharmacies and nursing homes have also faced difficulties in stocking enough vaccines amid bumps in a new distribution model, which changed from federal entities to wholesalers and other private suppliers.
Dr. Cohen said she believes things have resolved over the past few weeks when asked whether there were distribution challenges.
"There are plenty of appointments, plenty of supply."