COLORADO, USA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said five million Americans have missed an appointment for their second COVID-19 vaccine dose – which is about 8% of people who got their first shot.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's (CDPHE) director of communications, Jessica Bralish, said 62,478 Coloradans are overdue for their second COVID shot – which amounts to 2.7% who received their first dose.
"It is possible that some of these individuals received their first or second dose out of state or through one of the federal entities which don’t report into CIIS (e.g., Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Bureau of Prisons) – and are actually fully-vaccinated," said Bralish.
Although the Colorado number is relatively low, healthcare networks recognize a need for people who missed their second appointment to be able to reschedule.
"We've seen things where somebody actually has received their first dose out of state as an example and so they physically cannot get that second dose from where they were," said Dr. Andrew French, the VP for quality safety and clinical operations for Centura Health.
Centura is offering a clinic on Thursday with 2,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine specifically for people who still need a second shot within 42 days of their first.
At UCHealth, they've made it possible to schedule just a second dose online. Dr. Richard Zane, the hospital's chief innovation officer puts it bluntly.
"If you've had one dose that means you have to wear a mask forever," he said. "It means that you can be conduits for variants. It means that you can get sick. Really sick. It means you can make other people sick. You're not vaccinated until you've had both doses. It's a two dose regiment there is no halfway."
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