Although both COVID-19 cases and flu are now both low nationwide, health officials are still encouraging individuals to get vaccinated before the end of October.
Cases for these respiratory viruses may be low at the moment, but the viral season as a whole is shaping up to be similar to last year's — which at its worst saw between 15 and 25 new hospitalizations for every 100,000 people weekly — CNN reported Oct. 23.
"I would say October is when you want to start thinking about getting it, anticipating that November, December, and January will be the rough period," Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist stated in a news release in early October.
However, the fall vaccine rollout for COVID-19 the newly available RSV shot has been less than ideal, running into supply issues.
Populations that are most vulnerable to severe illness — the elderly in nursing homes and children — are having the hardest time accessing these vaccines.
One of the major changes for the COVID-19 vaccination is the shift that occurred from federal government rollout to commercialization and now are instead buying the vaccines from suppliers and wholesalers. So far 12 million Americans have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to HHS data, CNN reported. Last year by Oct. 12, more than 18 million people had received the new COVID-19 shot, the outlet reported.
For the other vaccines, drugmakers like Sanofi have publicly stated they are working to address the issues, but in some cases, like for its RSV shot, demand is outpacing supply.
"We're angry," Lauren Fitzpatrick, MD, who works at Parole, Md.-based Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, told CBS News Oct. 11. "As pediatricians, we're angry because it feels like we have an opportunity that may be missed."