Vaccine demand has cratered

Not just in the United States; Britain is getting set to toss jabs

The number of Americans willing to submit to mRNA doses continues to plunge.

Even with children 5 and over now eligible, the total number of doses administered in the United States every day is well under 1 million. That figure is barely above the July 2021 lows, before the Biden administration tried and failed to force its big-company vaccine mandate through.

Even the current trend significantly overstates what demand may be going forward, because boosters are propping it up. The number of new vaccinations is close to zero. More third shot “boosters” are administered now than either first or second doses.

But demand for boosters is also plunging.

That trend is also unlikely to reverse. The 20-30 percent of Americans who remain terrified of Covid have already received their boosters.

And at this point, stories of people who became infected with the Omicron variant after receiving a third shot are legion, even in the same outlets that relentlessly promote vaccination. Thus Americans do not have to know the hard numbers from countries like Scotland to understand that within months, boosters likely increase the risk of infection with Omicron - a reality that isn’t exactly helping demand.

In fact, internal data I have seen from health-care systems shows that despite enormous pressure, about half of all nurses and other hospital workers are refusing to take a third shot.

If they are required to receive boosters, the system - already under pressure from staffing shortages - may collapse. Awareness of this reality is likely the reason California postponed its booster requirement one day before it was set to take effect. (read more)