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The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that nearly 38% of American adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but officials have warned of some of the 55% who received their first dose by skipping the second. The 8% who skip the second dose could prolong the pandemic, according to a new study.
The research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, focused on responses from 1,000 American adults who were asked about vaccines in February. A fifth of respondents told the Cornell-led research team that they believed the Modern and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, each of the two-dose injections, offered strong protection after a single shot, while 36% had said they weren’t sure. Less than half said they thought the injections offered strong protection a week or two after the second dose, according to a press release on EurekAlert.org.
Several studies have shown that vaccines are most effective in preventing COVID-19 two weeks after the second dose.
The problem with dosage and effectiveness may lie in the message and missed opportunities to inform, as researchers found that about half of respondents said they were told when to protect the vaccine. One of the study’s lead authors, Jillian Goldfarb, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said she was concerned about the lack of information given to vaccinated when she received her first dose at a county-run site.
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Goldfarb said the missed opportunity to relay vital information such as post-vaccination prevention measures and the importance of a second dose could “end up prolonging the pandemic because people don’t follow through.”
“Many Americans, including many who have already received a first dose of the vaccine, remain confused about when to protect and whether a second dose is necessary,” the researchers wrote. “In addition, a large portion of those vaccinated report not being aware of CDC guidelines regarding the need to continue taking prophylactic measures.”
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In recent weeks, the Biden administration has deployed community messengers in an effort to tackle vaccine misinformation and help reach populations otherwise excluded from inoculation efforts. Some critics of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 hiatus earlier this month had expressed concern about replacing a single-dose injection with two-dose vaccines in hard-to-reach communities due to timing issues and feedback.
In the study’s new analysis, researchers warned that the problems surrounding second doses could be compounded among minority racial and ethnic groups who have historically had higher attrition rates for multidose vaccines. The Biden administration has put fairness at the forefront of its vaccine distribution plan, but researchers warn that failure to communicate the importance of a second dose “risks worsening existing racial disparities in the country. human toll of the virus ”.
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They called for more communication and information at the time of the first dose as well as “more comprehensive advice and more contextual explanations.”
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