US COVID vaccinations fall nearly 11% in a week as demand wanes
Though COVID-19 vaccines are now open to all US adults, vaccinations in the country are on the decline.
In the past week, the rolling seven-day average of daily vaccinations has slipped nearly 11 percent, falling from a high on April 13 of nearly 3.4 million shots per day to the current average of just over 3 million. And scores of counties across the US have begun declining shipments of vaccine doses, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
It’s the first time since the nationwide vaccination effort began last December that the country has seen a sustained decline in vaccinations—except for a brief dip in February which was linked to winter weather-related delays and cancellations. Multiple factors may explain the current drop in shots. The dip coincides with a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That pause may explain some—but not all—of the drop over the past week. However, health officials say extra supply of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have largely compensated for the Johnson & Johnson pause. Plus, recent polls suggest that the pause has not significantly affected vaccine hesitancy.
