Why we shouldn't panic about the millions who missed their second vaccine dose—yet
Five million people in the U.S. missed their second jab, and some scientists see a glimmer of hope in that statistic. We dig into the nuances behind the number.
This past weekend, I became a statistic. Sitting among a sea of tables at an office building-turned-vaccination center, I received my second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In just two weeks, I'll become one of more than 100 million people in the United States considered fully vaccinated. Yet not everyone who receives one of the available two-dose vaccines returns for their second shot: So far, some five million people in the U.S., roughly 8 percent of those who received a first dose, have missed their follow-up round.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and first reported by the New York Times, the statistic sent many people into
