Few Americans Have Had Updated COVID Booster; HCPs Can Help

As 2023 began, less than 16% of the US population aged 5 years or older had received an updated COVID-19 booster. Only 2 out of every 5 adults aged 65 or older had recently gotten boosted.^[1]

There's no getting around the fact that these are very disappointing statistics. This low rate of updated booster uptake is but one of many signs of the population's increasing (and somewhat understandable) COVID-19 fatigue after enduring a global pandemic that has stretched on for 3 years.

But the situation isn't hopeless. In fact, recent survey results suggest some grounds for cautious optimism: As it turns out, presenting new information may persuade people to make and follow through on plans to get boosted.

A survey of 1200 US adults examined the reasons why survey participants choose to receive or not to receive an updated COVID-19 booster. Many adults surveyed indicated that they did not know they were eligible (23.2%) or did not know where to get a booster (19.3%). Still other participants indicated that they believed they still had strong protection against infection or severe disease based on previous vaccination or infection (18.9%).^[2]

But here's where the story gets interesting. When presented with information about their eligibility and the availability of updated boosters, more than two thirds of the nonboosted adults (67.8%) indicated that they planned to get a dose of an updated booster.

After 1 month, the survey participants who had not received an updated booster were recontacted. Of those who previously reported planning to get the updated booster, 28.6% reported receiving an updated dose within the past month. Among those who had planned to but had not yet received an updated booster, 82.6% still intended to do so.

As trusted messengers, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and public health practitioners can play a critical role in persuading more people to get boosted. They can reach out to patients who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine since before September 2022 to encourage them to get the updated booster as soon as possible. They can share how immunity wanes over time and the importance of following booster vaccination recommendations to ensure durable protection against severe disease.^[3]

10 Ways to Increase COVID Booster Uptake

Here are a few suggestions for how health systems, providers, pharmacists, and other clinicians can help improve vaccination coverage among patients:

Send reminder messages to patients when they are due for an updated COVID-19 booster, including where to get an updated booster. These emails, texts, portal messages, and voicemail messages can include a list of pharmacies or clinics where they can get boosted and/or provide a link to vaccines.gov, where patients can find a convenient location near them.
Share CDC social media messages to encourage people to get the updated booster.
Share a link to CDC's Interactive Booster Tool to help patients keep track of when it's time to get an updated booster.
Implement provider protocols to review vaccine history with patients at every in-person visit and televisit.
Share information about how the updated boosters restore and expand overall protection against COVID-19 variants now circulating.^[4]
Be prepared to answer patients' questions about COVID-19 boosters using resources such as Talking with Patients about COVID-19 Vaccination.
Display posters and play frequent audio reminders in waiting rooms or retail pharmacy locations encouraging people to get an updated booster. These messages can make it easy for busy consumers to understand vaccine eligibility and recommendations on when it's time to book appointments.
Offer vaccination-only appointments or hold vaccination clinics.
Administer COVID-19 vaccines at the same time as other routine vaccines if recommended for individual patients.
Emphasize the risks of long COVID or severe disease based on the patient's medical history, including pre-existing conditions, age, or other factors. Cite evidence showing that updated boosters can reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and hospitalization.^[3]

While many people understandably have grown tired of hearing about COVID-19, patients continue to look to their trusted healthcare providers, pharmacists, and other clinicians to give them evidence-based advice and guidance on their health and well-being, including recommendations about COVID-19 boosters. By delivering key messages to dispel misconceptions and increasing convenient access to vaccination, trusted healthcare providers, pharmacists, and other clinicians can play a vital role in encouraging more people to get boosted while strengthening the US population's overall protection against COVID-19.