Many people 65 and older are not getting COVID-19 booster shots, according to Kaiser Health News. It’s unclear why given that the vaccines are shown to reduce severe illness and even prevent death among this more vulnerable population.
Most older adults got their first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine when it came out in early 2021, but when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a third shot, there wasn’t that same sense of urgency to get boosted.
Will Humble is the executive director for the Arizona Public Health Association. Even he’s a bit perplexed by why.
"You know, it's never just one thing. I think part of it is the infrastructure that some of the successful states had on hand in the beginning even before the pandemic, with local support and state support for public health resources, part of its political for sure," he said.
COVID-19 fatigue is another reality facing many adults.
"Part of it is that American adults, and not just seniors in particular, but all American adults, back in the early part of 2021, when the first vaccinations were rolling out, and it was a two-dose series, they thought,' OK, I signed up to run in a 10k. And then suddenly, somebody tells him, Oh, actually, it's a marathon,'" Humble said.
