Booster Shots Have Gone Into Arms Of Just 40% Of Americans

USA Today: Only 40% Of US. Population Has Gotten Boosters
The evidence about the protection from severe disease provided by booster shots is compelling, as outlined by the recent CDC study that showed they're 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations from omicron infections. And yet that data hasn't convinced even a majority of Americans to get boosted. Only 40% of the U.S. population has received the extra dose, considerably lower than the less-than-impressive 63% who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Even though President Joe Biden and health care experts continue to harp on the importance of booster doses as protection from the initial vaccinations wanes, the average number of boosters administered per day in the U.S. has dropped from a peak of 1 million in early December to about 490,000 as of last week. (Ortiz, Fernando and Tebor, 1/25)

AP: COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Drive Is Faltering In The US
The COVID-19 booster drive in the U.S. is losing steam, worrying health experts who have pleaded with Americans to get an extra shot to shore up their protection against the highly contagious omicron variant. Just 40% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the average number of booster shots dispensed per day in the U.S. has plummeted from a peak of 1 million in early December to about 490,000 as of last week. (Anderson, 1/26)

Austin American-Statesman: Do I Really Need To Get A COVID-19 Booster? CDC Real-World Study Supports Effectiveness
The new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides real-world U.S. numbers about the effectiveness of boosters for both the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19. The study analyzed cases from 383 emergency departments and urgent care clinics and 259 hospitals across 10 states from Aug. 26 to Jan. 5. It looked only at people 18 and older. The study found that mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna have waning effectiveness 180 days after the second dose. The effectiveness went from 94% during the delta variant spread to 82% amid omicron's spread for keeping people out of the emergency room and urgent care and from 94% to 90% for people keeping people from being hospitalized. (Villalpando, 1/25)

In other news on the vaccine rollout —

Georgia Health News: More Than 80% Of Staffers In Nursing Homes Vaccinated As Mandate Deadline Looms 
Georgia’s Covid vaccination rate among nursing home employees is just above the national average of 81 percent, according to federal data. Those vaccination figures have become more important after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Jan. 13 upholding a federal mandate requiring health care workers at facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to be fully vaccinated. If all staffers — excluding those with approved religious or medical exemptions — are not fully vaccinated, a facility will lose the revenue from the two programs, a Kaiser Health News report noted. (Berger and Miller, 1/25)

AP: Wisconsin Assembly OKs Vaccine Passport Ban, Immunity Waiver 
Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly approved a pair of bills Tuesday that would require employers to count a prior coronavirus infection as an alternative to vaccination and testing and prohibit government agencies from issuing vaccine passports. Both measures face a likely veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The governor last year vetoed a GOP bill that would have barred public health officials from requiring people get vaccinated. (Richmond, 1/25)

The Washington Post: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Apologizes For Saying The Unvaccinated Have Less Freedom Than Anne Frank Did
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized Tuesday for invoking Anne Frank to imply Jews had more freedoms during the Holocaust than unvaccinated Americans do today — remarks that drew a public backlash and criticism from Kennedy’s wife. ... On Tuesday, after intense criticism, he tweeted that to “the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.” “I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors,” wrote Kennedy, the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, also distanced herself from his remarks. “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own,” she tweeted. “While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.” (Jeong, 1/25)

CNBC: Covid Vaccine Skepticism Fueling Wider Anti-Vax Sentiment, Doctors Say
Skepticism toward Covid-19 vaccines could be fueling a “worrisome” rise in broader anti-vax sentiment, doctors have said. Professor Liam Smeeth, a physician and director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told CNBC he was concerned that vaccine hesitancy around Covid was “creeping into” sentiment toward other vaccines. “I’m concerned it’s making people think: ‘oh, well, maybe the measles vaccine isn’t great either, and maybe these other vaccines aren’t great,’” Smeeth said in a phone call. “And we don’t have to see much of a drop in measles vaccine coverage in the U.K. to get measles outbreaks.” (Taylor, 1/26)