Less than a quarter of US adults have received a Covid booster vaccine this year and only a third have got their flu shots, a CDC report shows.
Just 17.9 percent of adults aged 18 years and older had got the new shot against Covid by the week ending November 9.
The CDC says that everyone aged six months and over should get the flu vaccine and a Covid booster shot every year – but Americans are said to be suffering from ‘vaccine fatigue’ post-pandemic.
For the Covid booster shot, 4.7 percent more adults got the vaccine by November 9 this year compared to the same period last year.
At the other end of the scale, uptake was lowest in Puerto Rico where 5.2 percent of people had received the Covid vaccine and 17 percent had received the flu vaccine.
According to a CDC study, only one-third of US adults have received their flu shots, and less than 25% have received a Covid booster this year.
By the week of November 9, only 17 percent of adults who were 18 years of age or older had received the Covid vaccine.
The most likely to have received the vaccination were adults over 65, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus; however, fewer than 40% of them received the booster.
This year’s flu season, 34.7 percent of adults over the age of 18 had received the vaccine, with over-65s being the most likely to have done so, with a 50 percent uptake rate.
Everybody six months of age and older should receive a Covid booster shot and the flu vaccine annually, according to the CDC. However, Americans are reportedly experiencing “vaccine fatigue” in the wake of the pandemic.
Flu activity is currently regarded as low throughout much of the United States as the country enters the annual respiratory virus season. It is deemed minimal in Georgia and Louisiana, two states.
Despite the relaxation of Covid restrictions and some vaccine mandates, CDC data indicated that vaccination uptake for both the flu and Covid had increased marginally from the previous year.
Compared with the same period last year, 4 points 7 percent more adults received the Covid booster shot by November 9 this year.
Additionally, compared to the previous year, 0.9 percent more adults received the flu shot this year.
In order to lower their risk of illness, older adults are advised to get the RSV vaccine, which 39.7% of people 75 and older had received.
Of those between the ages of 60 and 74, 31.6 percent had received the updated vaccination.
According to the CDC, people without insurance were less likely to receive the flu and Covid vaccinations.
Over 60% of adults stated they would receive the flu vaccine, and over 50% stated they would receive the Covid vaccine, according to the agency, which also noted that more adults stated they intended to receive the vaccinations.
Data indicates that between nine and forty-one million Americans contract the flu each year, with 900,000 being hospitalized and 34,000 dying.
Maryland had the highest percentage of people who had received a flu vaccination, at 50.5%, among all states.
Additionally, at 33.9%, Vermont had the highest percentage of people who had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Puerto Rico had the lowest uptake rate, with only 5.2 percent of the population having received the COVID vaccine and only 17 percent having received the flu shot.
