Official data shows more than 150 million Covid vaccines have been stockpiled or discarded in the US – but regulators are still considering green shots for children under five and extra boosters for adults.
Federal data showed the vast excess, with 570 of the 720 million shipped to states being shot in people’s arms. Amid rising inventories, the US vaccination campaign is slowing, with the number of shots distributed falling by almost a fifth in a week, just a month after second booster shots were introduced for over-50s.
But despite the delay in enrollment, Moderna today applied for children ages one month to five years to receive its vaccine, becoming the first in the country to do so, while Pfizer on Tuesday requested that its boosters for children ages Years are stamped from five to eleven years.
Many scientists say children do not need a Covid vaccination because they are at such low risk if they contract the virus, with government estimates that three out of four have already contracted the virus. They account for less than 0.01 percent of the nearly one million Covid deaths in the US
Overall uptake is lower than when the vaccine was first approved, because more than half of Americans who are eligible for an initial booster dose have not received the vaccine more than seven months after its introduction. A total of 94 million are not yet fully vaccinated.
dr John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News it’s likely that anyone who hasn’t been bitten “is unconvinced of the importance of the protection afforded by vaccination,” especially with cases “at such low levels and nullifying.” of restrictions”. .
It comes as US Covid cases have risen 59 percent in two weeks to an average of 53,000 infections per day amid the spread of an even more contagious Omicron variant. All but four states – Texas, Arizona, Mississippi and Washington – are now reporting increases in infections.
However, hospitalizations in the US have fallen eight per cent in two weeks, with about 13,000 hospitalized daily – while deaths are down 38 per cent to 350 every 24 hours.
The Biden administration’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the US is “out of the pandemic” — although he tried to retract Wednesday’s comments over suggestions he had made wrong.
The graph above shows the number of Covid vaccines distributed in the US per day. The drive is slowing again, falling nearly a fifth in a week, with 390,000 jabs being dished out daily now
The charts above show the number of doses of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson shipped to and distributed by states
The map above shows the proportion of people who have been vaccinated in each state in the US and that overall 66 percent of Americans are now double vaccinated. Uptake has stalled recently amid the spread of the virus, with three in five Americans now believed to be infected — including three in four people aged 17 or younger
The chart above shows daily Covid cases in the US, they are now up 59 percent in two weeks and rising in all but four states – Texas, Arizona, Mississippi and Washington
The chart above shows the number of deaths from or with Covid recorded in the US, down 38 percent to 350 every 24 hours
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed the number of Covid vaccines shipped. Unused cans were not broken down according to whether they were still in storage or wasted.
States said cans were lost through dumping, either because vials had to be discarded partially unused after opening, or because they had reached their expiration date.
But many are still sitting on shelves, too, with both Moderna and Pfizer jabs having a shelf life of up to a year provided they stay ultrafrozen and a month if thawed.
Denmark ends its Covid vaccination campaign
Denmark became the first country in the world to end its Covid vaccination program.
The Danish health authority said today: “Spring is here, the vaccination rate in the Danish population is high and the epidemic has reversed.
“Therefore, the National Board of Health is now ending the comprehensive vaccination effort against Covid for this season.”
It said residents would no longer be invited for vaccinations from May 15, although anyone could complete their vaccination course.
More than 4.8 million Danes – or 80 percent of the population – are fully vaccinated, while 3.6 million – or 62 percent – are topped up.
It also began offering fourth doses of Covid vaccine, or second booster shots, to those at risk in January.
America has purchased more than 1.2 billion doses of Covid vaccine, enough to distribute three shots to every member of the population.
Uptake of the shots was initially high when they first became available, peaking in April 2021 averaging more than 3.5 million shots issued each day.
It also rose to as much as 1.8 million a day at the peak of the booster program amid concerns about the Omicron variant, and recently surged to 470,000 every 24 hours after second top-ups were approved.
But now the vaccination drive is slowing again – as the milder Omicron variant accounts for almost every case in the US and almost all virus-related restrictions such as face masks are lifted.
A total of 390,000 jabs are now being thrown out daily, the latest figures show, down 18 percent in one week.
CDC figures show that Pfizer is the vaccine product most likely to be sitting on shelves or wasted, with 86 million dispensed doses yet to be placed in people’s arms.
It is followed by the Moderna vaccine at 52 million and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at 12 million.
The CDC doesn’t break down its numbers by state, meaning it’s not clear who else has the most doses not given to Americans.
But despite the drop in demand, Moderna and Pfizer are now trying to approve their vaccines in children, sparking controversy.
On the one hand, many parents and even officials at top regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC are demanding that vaccinations be allowed in young children to wipe out even the small risk the virus poses to them.
On the other hand, many health experts believe that the shots are not necessary for the youngest Americans. The risk they face from the virus is already minimal, and the mRNA syringes haven’t shown much durability to prevent infection long-term.
Young children who receive the vaccine also have a minimal risk of myocarditis from the vaccines, offsetting some concerns about the potential benefit of a vaccine.
Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, said in submitting his application, “We believe that mRNA-1273 will be able to safely protect these children from SARS-CoV-2, which is important in our ongoing fight against COVID-19.” is important and is particularly welcomed by parents and carers.’
So far, no Covid vaccines have been approved for children under the age of five in the US – the equivalent of 18 million people.
dr Peter Marks, the FDA’s director of biological evaluation and research, said this week that getting vaccines approved for children is “one of our top priorities.”
It’s unclear when Pfizer’s or Moderna’s applications can be approved.
Last month, America became one of just a handful of other countries to approve second booster shots, or fourth doses, for everyone over the age of 50.
Israel and Belgium, among others, are set to approve the program, although many nations have instead opted to only approve the additional vaccinations for those who are immunocompromised.
It is expected that rollout could be expanded and even fifth shots could be approved this fall in preparation for the third winter of the pandemic.
However, many experts warn that the US is already in danger of falling into a situation where it introduces recharge boosters every year, even when they are not needed. Some say immunity to serious infections from current vaccinations is “holding up well.”
About vaccine waste, Dr. Buddy Creech of the Vaccine Research Program in Nashville, Tenn., told ABC: “It’s a tremendous loss of opportunity for these vaccines if they don’t make it onto the shoulders of those who need them.
“It is not only a financial loss for the vaccine buyer – the US government – but also a significant health loss for those who are not yet protected from Covid and its complications.”
dr Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, warned that so many doses were wasted because officials “underestimated” the extent of vaccine hesitancy.
“Vaccine development has been both one of the wonderful triumphs and one of the tragedies of the COVID response,” he said.
“We have naively underestimated the extent of vaccine hesitancy and resistance, some fueled by what the World Health Organization has dubbed the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation and disinformation that continues to this day.”