Some experts fear America has left itself open to a future deadly Covid wave because so few seniors have received a boost.
The latest official data shows that almost six in 10 Americans over the age of 65 have not received last year’s bivalent booster shot – and experts believe even fewer will emerge when the newly formulated Covid vaccines are rolled out this month.
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show there are also wide disparities between different parts of the country, with only a quarter of seniors getting a boost in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana..
At the provincial level, where smaller population sizes mean numbers are more volatile, uptake is as low as 2 percent – and perhaps even lower in some areas. Overall, only about 43 percent of eligible people over age 65 nationwide have signed up for the bivalent booster, which rolled out last winter, according to the CDC’s latest data dating back to May 2023.
More seniors have likely signed up since that date, but enthusiasm for the vaccines has waned during the pandemic. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, warned that the data suggested the US could see a “remarkable” increase in Covid hospitalizations and deaths this winter – including although most of the country has antibodies against the virus. .
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The map above shows U.S. counties based on bivalent booster uptake among adults age 65 and older. You can view the map by clicking on the link in the dots above
The map above shows the uptake of the bivalent booster among people over 65 per state until May 2023
Although Covid has become milder as more people have immunity through infection or vaccination, older people – who have weaker immune systems – are still at greatest risk of severe illness and death if they contract the virus.
The CDC data was last updated in May 2023 for all 3,144 counties in the US. Hawaii was excluded because there was not enough data available. The dataset also included figures from the 100 subdivisions of the United States territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam.
Dr. Schaffner told DailyMail.com, after reviewing the data: ‘We could have a notable Covid influenza RSV season this year because we will be dealing with a population that is under-vaccinated.
“That means more cases, more intensive care visits and more deaths.”
However, he added: ‘We do not expect an increase in Covid-19 as great as in recent winters or, thank God, the winter before.
‘But we will see an increase and that increase can largely be prevented, that is the basic principle.’
On why hospitalizations will increase this winter, he said: “Many people were vaccinated many months ago and now their protection is waning, but they have a false sense of security.
‘They’ve been out with some friends who got Covid but didn’t go to hospital.
‘But as the months go by and their protection continues to wane… they could be struck by an infection that could land them in intensive care within 48 hours.’
Data showed that in more than 60 counties in 13 states, fewer than one in 10 seniors received the bivalent booster.
However, some U.S. counties with low vaccination rates also had small populations of seniors, which could skew the numbers.
The county with the fewest people over 65 in the entire U.S. was Norton County, Virginia, according to CDC data — where only 0.1 percent of older adults reported.
However, when contacted by DailyMail.com, the Department of Health claimed there were discrepancies in the national data and that the figures were incorrect.
A spokesperson said that, for example, 8.6 percent of seniors in Norton County had actually received the bivalent vaccine.
Excluding Virginia, Texas’ King County had the lowest booster intake among those over 65, with just two percent of residents signing up to get the shot.
Hospitalizations in the United States are also increasing, which is expected to be caused by the EG.5 Covid variant
The number of deaths from Covid-19 has risen slightly recently, official surveillance shows
At the other end of the scale was a county in Maine, where more than 86 percent of residents over the age of 65 received the Covid booster last year.
Wisconsin, Vermont, Iowa, Massachusetts, Washington and Colorado — mostly Democratic-led states — all also had counties in the top 10 for highest vaccination rates among the age group.
When contacted by DailyMail.com, a CDC spokesperson said the May county numbers were the most current.
The above is part of the CDC advertising campaign to get people to get the flu vaccine
Dr. Schaffner added: “There have been a number of studies that have shown that your political beliefs are partly reflected in how eagerly the population embraces the Covid vaccine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the same for the flu. vaccine too.”
He added: ‘There is so much information about Covid and its woes that I am regularly amazed at the fact that people are not embracing this vaccine.
“All these vaccines shift the balance in your favor. None are perfect, none prevent disease, but a very mild infection is very different from having to go to hospital.’
More than 230 million Americans — including nearly 95 percent of those over 65 — stepped forward to receive the first two shots of the original Covid vaccine.
But with the rollout of the bivalent booster last year, this figure fell to 56 million – with only 23 million over-65s coming forward.
Two shots of the original Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were required because the first primed the immune system while the second maximized the immune response.
Boosters are now being rolled out, similar to the flu vaccine, to replenish immunity levels that may have waned.
Research shows that immunity declines more quickly in older people, putting them at greater risk of serious illness and death from the virus.
This year, health officials will offer Americans an updated booster vaccine targeting the XBB variant, which was dominant in the US this summer.
Initial tests show it is also effective at protecting against BA.2.86, which has sparked fears of a new Covid wave.
There are also promising signs that it will work against the EG.5 Covid variant, which is currently dominant in the US.
The White House has suggested that this vaccine will be offered to everyone over the age of five, although this has yet to be confirmed.
Concerns about the Pirola variant also led some schools to bring back face masks — even though studies showed the variant was no more transmissible than other currently circulating strains.
Data shows Covid hospitalizations are increasing in the US, with approximately 17,418 people admitted in the week ending August 26 – a 16 percent increase compared to the previous seven-day period.
But this is well below the level reported earlier this year, when there were 44,000 admissions per week in January.
Deaths are also rising, with 672 fatalities recorded in the week to August 12, the latest available – a six percent increase from 631 the week before. But this is also well below the level recorded earlier this year.
After showing the cards, Dr. Thomas Moore, an infectious disease expert at the University of Kansas, told DailyMail.com that they were “not encouraging.”
“The map is certainly not very encouraging,” he said.
Asked about the impact on this year’s virus season, he said: ‘I think it’s hard to predict how this respiratory virus season will unfold.
‘We have had significant transmission throughout the summer and cases are increasing locally, but our hospital admissions have not increased significantly.
“If our experience can be generalized, I believe most communities will experience an increase in outpatient and emergency department visits, and I expect some increase in hospitalizations.
“But absent the emergence of a Paxlovid-resistant or vaccine-resistant strain, I expect there will be nothing like the spikes we experienced with any of the previous strains, including Delta and Omicron.”