Nine in 10 vaccinated Americans have received their second dose against COVID – but more than 1.4 million people are either late getting their second shot or never received it, CDC report finds
- A new CDC report looked at nearly 12.5 million people who received their first coronavirus vaccine dose from December 14 to February
- More than 10.9 million people, or 88%, got their second dose within the 42-days recommended CDC time frame
- Nearly 9% are late but still have time to get their final shot and about 3% never received the second shot
- Completion rates ranged as low as 72.3% in Utah to as high as 95.8% in West Virginia, which has been leading the U.S. in the vaccine race
- American Indian/Alaska Native people were most likely to miss or not get their second dose at 16.1%
More than 1.4 million Americans who got a first coronavirus vaccine dose are either late getting their second dose or have completely missed it, a new report finds.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of the first federal study to look at how many are people are completing the series.
They found that nearly nine out of 10 people who receive either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine get both doses.
However, more than one million patients did not complete the series but still had time to do so and 420,000 people missed getting their final dose within the recommended time frame.
In a new CDC report, more than 10.9 million people, or 88%, got their second dose within the 42-day recommended time frame. Nearly 9% are late but still have time to get their final shot and about 3% never received the second shot
Completion rates ranged as low as 72.3% in Utah to as high as 95.8% in West Virginia, which has been leading the U.S. in the vaccine race. Pictured: Sean Alexander Bailey (right) gets a COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Lynchburg, Virginia, March 2021
Those who receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are asked to come back in 21 days and those who get the Moderna vaccine in 28 days.
In late January, the updated its guidance and said it was to space out the first and second doses by up to 42 days.
This was meant to help Americans who had barriers or restrictions that prevented them from getting to a second appointment sooner.
For the report, the CDC looked at nearly 12.5 million people who were vaccinated between December 14, 2020 and February 14, 2021.
During that period, the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 immunization had not been authorized yet for emergency use yet.
Of the total number of patients, 88 percent, or 10.9 million million, had completed the two-dose regimen.
Additionally, 8.6 percent, about one million people did not receive their second dose but were still within the 42 days allowed by the CDC.
Meanwhile, 3.4 percent, roughly 420,000 people had missed the final dose and were outside of the 42-day window.
Among demographic groups, American Indian/Alaska Native people were most likely to miss or not get their second dose at 16.1 percent.
Despite these numbers, the researchers say the results are mostly positive.
More than 69.7 million people – 21% of the population – have received at least one vaccine dose and 37.4 million – 11.3% – are fully vaccinated
More than two million people are being vaccinated on average every day with a record 4.5 million people receiving shots in arms on Saturday
‘This is good news,’ co-author Dr Robin Toblin, of the CDC’s COVID-19 Response Team, told the Associated Press.
‘We think these findings are really encouraging. The fact that most people are completing the two-dose series to be fully vaccinated shows the system’s working.’
CDC researchers also gave a breakdown of completion rates by states.
Results showed it ranges from as low 72.3 percent in Utah to as high as 95.8 percent in West Virginia, which has been leading the vaccine race.
There may be different reasons for state differences, including winter weather that could have delayed vaccine deliveries and caused the cancellation of vaccination clinics, Toblin said.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 69.7 million people – 21 percent of the population – have received at least one vaccine dose and 37.4 million – 11.3 percent – are fully vaccinated.
More than two million people are being vaccinated on average every day. On Saturday, a record 4.5 million people received shots in arms.
