The new shot targets a highly contagious variant that is in wide circulation nationwide<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Physician\u2019s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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FRIDAY, Oct. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Fewer Americans are rolling up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 shot, leading health experts to call for a stepped-up vaccination campaign. Only 7 percent of adults and 2 percent of children in the United States have received the new vaccine, a nationwide survey conducted two weeks ago revealed.<\/p>\n
Experts expressed dismay at the numbers — which were presented Thursday at a meeting held by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Associated Press<\/em>. But uptake may stay low. Nearly 40 percent of survey respondents said they “probably” or “definitely would not” get the shot. A similar percentage of parents said they did not plan to vaccinate their children.<\/p>\n At the meeting, Camille Kotton, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, called the numbers “abysmal,” and urged stepped-up efforts to educate the public about the boosters. Kotton said patients may be confused, the AP<\/em> reported. The new shot is just the latest that Americans have been asked to get over the past 2-1\/2 years to fight COVID-19.<\/p>\n The new vaccine targets a highly contagious descendant of the omicron variant dubbed XBB.1.5, the AP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n The government recently transitioned to a commercialized system that relied on the health care industry — not the government — to distribute the shots, AP<\/em> noted. Some Americans who quickly sought shots said doctors and pharmacies did not have them.<\/p>\n