Nearly 50,000 people in Florida who received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine are late for their second.
The two immunizations approved for emergency use authorization in the USA – Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – each require a booster injection three or four weeks apart.
According to the Florida Department of Health, about 1.03 million people received at least one injection and more than 93,000 returned for the second injection.
However, a total of 45,056 missed the shot – a figure that has increased by 10% in the past three days, data from the health department show.
Some health experts say the elderly are delaying their second appointment because they fear serious side effects, such as fever, headache and chills.
There is currently no national database tracking people who are late for their second injection and Florida is the first state to announce this problem.
Of the 1.03 million people in Florida who received at least one injection of the coronavirus vaccine, 45,056 are late for their second dose. Photo: A medical worker administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Kathy Veltman at a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City, Florida, January 13
The Florida Department of Health declined to answer questions about whether authorities are concerned and the reasons why people missed their second injection
Dr. Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that it is unclear what it means for people to miss their vaccines without knowing why they are late.
He said it could be a number of factors, including people not knowing when they will get their second chance or even a delay in reporting.
“Without knowing the ‘why’ here, it is a challenge to know if it should be worrying,” said Salemi.
‘At the moment, I am not worried, but if that number continues to grow … or the reasons for missing the second dose are worrying (for example, no available dose, people who cannot attend appointments in a timely manner), then I I would be thinking of effective solutions. ‘
However, some experts say they expected such a situation to occur.
“I heard that some seniors are refusing to do the second injection because they heard that the side effects are worse with the second injection,” Todin Husty, EMS medical director for Seminole County, told WESH 2.
Data from clinical trials showed that many volunteers who received the second dose experienced worse side effects, such as fever, headache, fatigue, chills and shortness of breath.
But officials say this is a sign that the vaccine is working and that the immune system is preparing a response.
Husty told WESH 2 that the best solution is to educate the general public that the virus itself is far worse than the side effects and that symptoms such as headache or fever can be relieved with Tylenol.
Jason Mahon, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Health, told Sun Sentinel that 80 percent of people who received the second dose received it.
Health experts say that some elderly people may be concerned about the side effects of taking the second dose, which is known to be stronger than the first. Pictured: Residents of The Palace assisted living facility in Coral Gables, Florida, wait in line to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, January 12
In a statement on Thursday, Governor Ron DeSantis urged Florida residents who are being vaccinated not to renounce the second injection
However, he did not answer questions about why people are late or whether state officials are concerned.
The state Department of Health did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Dr. Joshia Lenchus, medical director at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, told Sun Sentinel that the two doses are spaced to give the body time to mount an immune response while reducing side effects.
The booster injection of Pfizer is given 21 days after the initial injection, while the Moderna vaccine is given after 28 days.
Lenchus said there is a four-day window in which it is ideal to distribute the second dose, but he still recommends placing it outside that window.
“I would suggest that we still succeed,” he told Sun Sentinel.
‘I wouldn’t be walking around with a shot feeling protected.’
In a statement released on Twitter on Thursday, Governor Ron DeSantis asked Florida residents to receive their second dose
“While there is talk at the federal level about how to distribute doses of the vaccine and whether booster vaccines should be ‘withheld’, Florida is committed to the two-dose regimen for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines,” he wrote.
“One dose seems to provide some protection, but the 95 percent efficiency was only achieved with the booster injection.
“This means that, although the form of distribution may change, the need for reinforcement injection will not change. Florida wants all seniors to receive booster shots at the appropriate time. ‘