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 Just under a million people a day received booster doses of one of
the three authorized vaccines last week, the highest rate since U.S.
regulators gave the nod to additional shots for some adults in
September, government data shows.
"In the last week, we've gotten nearly 7 million people a booster;
that's a million booster shots in arms a day. And that's more people
getting a booster shot per day than ever before," White House
COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Tuesday. Around
55% of people aged 65 and older who are eligible for a booster have
received one, he added.
All in all the United States administered 12.5 million vaccines in
the last week, Zients said at a White House briefing, its highest
rate since May.
U.S. regulators expanded eligibility for vaccine booster shots to
all adults in mid-November.
Around 47 million people in the United states have now received a
booster shot, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data
shows, almost a quarter of all fully vaccinated adults in the
country.
Close to 10 million of those people have gotten the extra shots
since the Thanksgiving holiday, when South Africa reported it had
found the highly mutated Omicron variant, which triggered global
alarm of a surge in infections.
The surge represents a 12.5% increase compared to the boosting rate
before the holiday.
News of the variant, people's desire to be reunited with family over
the winter holiday season and public health messaging have pushed
the demand for boosters, said infectious disease expert Dr. William
Schaffner.
"I'm certainly encouraged and if that rate continues, I will be
very, very pleased," said Schaffner, medical director of the
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
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 "For a while the acceptance of
the boosters was happening very slowly. But
there seems to be some acceleration and I'm
exhilarated about the acceleration."
Boosters are a key part of President Joe Biden's Omicron response
plan. The White House is working with local authorities and
pharmacies to meet growing demand, Zients said.
CVS Health Corp has enough vaccine supply to meet high demand and is
hiring more employees to administer doses, said spokesperson Matt
Blanchette. The pharmacy chain has also increased available
appointments across its locations. "We’ve seen a
significant spike in demand over the past two weeks due to multiple
factors including the holidays, authorization of boosters for all
and pediatric populations, and increased variant news," said Erin
Loverher, a Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc spokesperson.
Preliminary evidence indicates that the variant likely has a higher
degree of transmissibility but is less severe, top U.S. infectious
disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
Although more data is needed, early cases of Omicron seem to require
fewer hospitalizations and patients are less likely to need oxygen,
Fauci told reporters at the White House briefing.
More data is expected next week, Fauci said, but it will take a few
weeks to reach any definitive conclusions.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Michael Erman in
New Jersey; Additional Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Sonya
Hepinstall and David Gregorio)
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