Only one-third of Americans eligible for a COVID vaccine booster shot have gotten one—alarming public health officials who see the third jab as key to slowing the spread of the Omicron variant. In New York City, where Omicron has sparked a huge surge in COVID cases, only about 1.5 million residents out of 8 million had been boosted, The New York Times reported. Confusing messaging, politicization of the vaccine, and lack of availability are contributing to the slow booster adoption—even though doctors say it definitely will save lives.
“I know there are individual considerations and I don’t want to pass judgment,” said Dr. Rusty Oshita, whose three urgent care clinics in Sacramento, California, have not seen expected lines of people coming for the third shot. “But personally, as someone who has shoveled dirt on a 35-year-old patient’s grave site and attended a service for a 56-year-old gentleman just recently, this is something I think we all really need to look hard into.”
