'National COVID-19 vaccination rate under 18%: CDC survey'

 Just 17.9 percent of U.S. adults have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, and 34.7 percent have received an influenza vaccine during the 2024-25 respiratory disease season, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

The report, published Thursday, notes that 35 percent of adults are open to receiving an influenza vaccine, 41 percent are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine and 40 percent are open to getting a vaccine for RSV.  

Vaccination rates for both influenza and COVID-19 vary across the United States and its territories, with Puerto Rico having the lowest rate of vaccination against influenza and COVID-19.  

As of Nov. 9, 5.2 percent of people surveyed in Puerto Rico have received the COVID-19 vaccine for this respiratory disease season and 17 percent have gotten an influenza vaccine.  

Maryland has the highest percentage of people vaccinated against influenza — 50.5 percent — and Vermont has the highest vaccination rate for COVID-19 at 33.9 percent, according to the report.

Uninsured people were also less likely than the general population to say they had received either an influenza or COVID-19 vaccine, or planned to this season.

The report comes on the heels of a Pew Research Center survey showing that 60 percent of Americans will “probably not” get an updated vaccine this year.  Fewer than 25 percent of Americans will “probably get” a COVID-19 booster shot while 15 percent have already received one, according to Pew.  

The CDC estimates that the flu results in between 100,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations and between 49,00 to 51,000 deaths a year. COVID-19 also continues to make people sick and sends them to emergency rooms, especially those who are unvaccinated.  

CDC officials recommend that everyone six months and older should receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves against the virus. Vaccination is especially critical for adults who are 65 and older and those who have never been vaccinated in the past.  

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5003450-cdc-report-covid-flu-vaccination/