JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Vaccine numbers are dropping by the day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The rate that Americans are getting the shot declined by 22% in the last seven days, pushing back the chances of reaching herd immunity. The rate of weekly vaccinations dropped 36% in Florida.
Free groceries and food offered Saturday at a vaccination site at a Westside Jacksonville church but it didn’t help with turnout.
“It’s been pretty dismal,” said Jevetta Stanford, said an administrator with Life Through the Word Ministry, which partnered with the Florida Emergency Management to administer vaccines.
“We’re just not getting the turnout,” Stanford said. “But we’re hoping. We know we’re not at a point where we are 100% vaccinated in our community.”
That’s the goal everywhere, but just like at this site, the CDC says across the country fewer people are getting shots.
CDC data shows that while more than 151 million Americans have had at least one shot, only about a third of the population is fully vaccinated.
Earlier this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis talked about the declining number of Floridians getting vaccinated. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on Saturday morning, 43.8% of the state’s residents had received at least one shot with 32.1% fully vaccinated.
Nationally, 45.6% have received at least one shot and 33.9% are fully vaccinated.
President Joe Biden says his administration’s goal is for 70% of Americans to get at least one COVID-19 shot by July 4. Biden says the FDA is expected to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as 12 soon. Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds are able to get the shot, along with adults.
On Friday, the CDC updated their website tracking vaccine data by race, ages, and counties, showing those fully vaccinated include 29.5% of American Indian/Alaska Natives, 23.7% of Whites, around 19% of Asian and Native Hawaiians, 15% of Blacks and 13% Hispanic.
The pastor at the church, Robert Standford, says though those numbers aren’t the best right now and he thinks having data can be useful.
“The demographics definitely going to help because people need to know that people in your community are getting it done,” he said.
The CDC said in Duval County, 289,215 people are fully vaccinated, about 30% of the county’s population.
Some mass vaccination sites across the country are starting to close because of the drop in demand.
Standford says people in our area should get the vaccine while they still can.