5 Million Americans Skipped Second COVID-19 Vaccine Shot: Why?

Millions of Americans are skipping the second COVID-19 vaccine shot, according to data released Sunday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A report published by the CDC on vaccine completion status through April 9 shows that 8% of all patients — roughly 5 million Americans — who had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna skipped the second dose.

The percentage of those not getting their second shot doubled from 3.4%, according to the CDC’s data through mid-February.

In interviews with The New York Times, some Americans said they missed their second shot because they felt that a single jab protected them from the virus. Others said they were afraid of the possible side effects, which include pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, muscle pains, fever, headache and nausea.