Vaccine uptake is lackluster, and that’s a problem, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Are you up to date on your vaccines? How about your children? Amesh Adalja, a critical care medicine physician and pandemic preparedness expert at Johns Hopkins, says a look at the data on vaccine uptake is cause for alarm.

 Amesh Adalja:I think the only way you can rate it is that it's very concerning. What we've seen is an erosion in the public's perception of the value of vaccines. I think this is something that's been going on for a long, long time but really accelerated, that took on a new flavor during covid, when you saw so much anti vaccine activity going on. They were basically energized and now that has spilled into other vaccines. That we're seeing lower rates of childhood immunizations, we're seeing measles outbreaks ensuing because of that. We're seeing less vaccination against influenza.    :31

Far fewer people are electing to receive the newest Covid vaccine in spite of the most recent national outbreak. Adalja says it’s important to remember that many hospitalizations and deaths are still the result of Covid infection, and flu is on the threshold. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.