According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over 7 million Americans have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine since its approval one month ago.
The Pfizer and Moderna shots were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 11, and distribution was authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 12.
While parents and pediatricians are struggling to find available doses, HHS reports that 14 million vaccines have been shipped to pharmacies and other locations.
It is important to note that providers and pharmacies self-report these numbers, as the federal government is no longer responsible for purchasing and distributing the majority of the vaccines.
Similar to the flu shot and other vaccines, the COVID vaccine is now commercialized. This means that hospitals, physician offices, and pharmacies are responsible for ordering shots, and individuals are expected to pay for them. However, according to the HHS, “most Americans” can receive the vaccine at no additional cost through their health insurance or the CDC program.
Due to the commercialization of the vaccine, the numbers provided by the HHS are likely an undercount, and detailed breakdowns are not available.
Despite these limitations, the agency states that the current vaccine effort is comparable to the 2022 rollout of the bivalent booster shot. By September 28, 2022, nearly 7.6 million Americans had received the updated shots, which was about 10 days earlier than the current rollout.
However, the demand for the 2022 bivalent booster vaccine was low, with only about 20 percent of adults receiving the shot. Experts predict a similar response to the newest version.
The updated shots specifically target the XBB.1.5 variant, which was dominant when vaccine manufacturers began formulating and testing the new version.
Like all COVID-19 vaccines, the updated version does not provide complete infection prevention but aims to reduce the severity of symptoms and lower the risk of “long COVID.”
Although the XBB.1.5 variant is no longer dominant and accounts for only about 3 percent of cases, experts and administration officials assert that the vaccines should still effectively prevent severe infections caused by other circulating variants.
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