Many Floridians late for second dose of COVID vaccine, worried about side effects

© Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images / Getty
An American Medical Response, Inc healthcare worker working with the Florida Department of Health in Broward is pictured above administering a Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to continuing care retirement community John Knox Village on January 6, 2021 in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Some Florida residents are late for their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine as many are concerned about the vaccine’s potential side effects.

The two COVID-19 vaccines approved in the United States each require a second dose about 3-4 weeks after the first to be fully effective. The Pfizer vaccine requires a second dose after 21 days and the Moderna vaccine after 28 days.

More than one million Florida residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly 92,000 of them have already taken their second dose, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Of the remaining 915,000 people who received the first dose, more than 40,000 of them are late for their second injection.

Many of them are older people who worry about side effects from the follow-up dose.

Jason Mahon, spokesperson for the state’s health department, told the local newspaper South Florida Sun-Sentinal that everyone who received the first dose is immediately scheduled for their second. Mahon also noted that 80% of people expected for the second dose received it.

The problem for many Florida residents who do not receive the second dose is not an issue of availability, as Florida has collected nearly 2 million doses of the vaccine, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While it is unclear exactly why some Floridians skip the second dose, some believe it could be related to side effects of the booster.

“I’ve heard that some seniors are reluctant to receive the second stroke because they heard that the side effects were worse with the second stroke,” said Todd Husty, director of emergency medical services for the county. Seminole, on local television station WFLA.

According to the CDC, side effects can include pain and swelling at the injection site, fever, chills, fatigue, and headache. Some people have reported increased side effects after the second injection of the vaccine. Health officials, however, noted that severe symptoms from the vaccine are rare.

Husty said the solution is to let people know that getting COVID-19 is much worse than the side effects of the vaccine.

More than 11,000 new cases of coronavirus and 133 deaths were reported in Florida on January 17. Over the past week, there has been an average of 13,467 new cases every day, according to data from the New York Times. During the pandemic, the state recorded more than 1.5 million cases and 24,000 deaths.

Florida is one of the eight states that have reported the most contagious B.1.1.7 variant. Cases of the variant have also been identified in Colorado, California, Georgia, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. However, health officials warn that the variant is likely circulating undetected across the country.

Newsweek contacted the Florida Department of Health for comment.

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