The decline in US vaccine demand has several places to reduce doses

Jackson, Miss-Louisiana has stopped asking the federal government for a full allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine. About three-quarters of Kansas counties have refused new vaccine shipments at least once in the past month. In Mississippi, authorities also asked the federal government to ship vials in small packages so they wouldn’t be wasted.

As a supply of Coronavirus Vaccine doses in the United States are outpacing demand, and in some parts of the country we are aware that we are not very interested in injections and need to decline shipments.

“It’s a kind of stall. Some people just don’t want it,” said nurse Stacy Hillman. health In the rural sector of Decatur County, Kansas, less than one-third of the county’s 2,900 inhabitants have been vaccinated at least once.

Decreasing demand vaccine In trying to overcome a pandemic while dealing with tens of thousands of doses of optics on the shelves when countries such as India and Brazil are in the midst of full-scale emergency medical care. It shows the challenges facing the United States.

More than half of American adults have been vaccinated at least once, and the president Joe Biden This week we celebrated 200 million solar eclipses during his first 100 days in office. He also acknowledged that he has entered a new stage in strengthening outreach and overcoming hesitation.

There are pharmacists and public health authorities across the country, seeing demand declining and supply increasing. Approximately half of Iowa’s counties have stopped requesting new doses from the state, and Louisiana hasn’t requested the shipment of some vaccine doses in the past week.

In Mississippi, a small town pharmacist, Robin Jackson, has begged everyone in the community to come out and take a shot after receiving the first shipment of vaccines earlier this month, celebrating the arrival of the shipment. Despite having a garden sign outside, demand was weak. She wasted more vaccine than she had distributed and invited her family to a pharmacy to start injecting.

“No one came,” she said. “And I don’t mean anyone.”

Barber County, Kansas has reduced vaccinations from the state for two of the last four weeks, but Danielfer said he has no plans to vaccinate. The 32-year-old said she had been infected with COVID-19 last year with her 5 and 12-year-old sons and husband.

Blood tests detected antibodies to the virus in all four, so she believes they are already protected.

“I believe in a vaccine that has eradicated terrible illnesses for the past 60 or 70 years. I completely believe it,” said Farr, who works for an accounting firm. “Now I’ve been vaccinated in a hurry in six or seven months, so I’m a little more careful about what I put in my body.”

Barbara Gennaro, a housewife with two small children in Yazoo City, Mississippi, said everyone in the homeschooling community was against vaccination. Genaro generally avoids vaccination of families, and the coronavirus vaccine is no exception.

“All the strong Christians I’m involved with are against it,” she said. “Fear drives people to vaccinate — obvious and simple. The more trust you have in the Lord, the less likely you are to want or feel the need for a vaccine.”

Another challenge for vaccination in rural states such as Mississippi is that they are often given in large packages containing at least 10 doses in a single vial.

At a press conference in early April, Republican Governor Tate Reeves said Mississippi authorities had demanded that the federal government send the vaccine in smaller packages to avoid wasting it.

“If you’re in New York City and you’re sending your parcel to one of the big pharmacies in downtown Manhattan, that particular pharmacy is most likely to have literally millions of people within walking distance.” Reeves says. “Well, if you’re in the countryside of Itta Bena, Mississippi, that’s not the case.”

To combat hesitation, Louisiana continues to increase outreach activities with community organizations and faith-based leaders, set up hotlines to help people schedule appointments, and free transportation to vaccination centers. Work to find a means. The Ministry of Health sent more than 100,000 mails on Monday to encourage people to vaccinate. Robocalls from local medical directors are also being sent to landlines in the state.

In New Mexico, state officials are looking for “community champions.” This is a trusted resident of a vaccine-repellent area that can address safety and efficacy concerns. A question-and-answer type city hall is also available. Also, video testimony about the coronavirus vaccine has already been recorded.

Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and chairman of the Association of State and Territory Health Officials, said everyone was eligible for vaccination, and public health officials faced three groups. doing. “Now” and “Never”.

He said the first group couldn’t take a shot because they didn’t have the time. “Not now” asks serious questions about the safety, efficacy, and whether they need injections.

He isn’t ready to cancel “unprecedented”, but instead works to find trusted messengers like “doctors, family, community members” to give them good information. I’m doing it. “

In Corinth, Mississippi, pharmacist Austin Bullard said many people are waiting to be vaccinated until a single vaccination is possible. The news about Johnson & Johnson vaccines and the risk of blood clots scares people about getting vaccinations of all kinds, no matter how slim.

“Since then, I feel totally hesitant,” he said.

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Hollingsworth reported from the Kansas Mission and Smith in Providence, Rhode Island. Associated Press journalist Melinda Deslatte contributed from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.