Why is the U.S. vaccination rate stalling?

In a recent press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki touched on the flatlining COVID-19 vaccination rates in the U.S. 

Despite a series of vaccine mandates, the daily rate of new COVID-19 vaccinations is the lowest it’s been since mid-January, according to CDC data. 

Daily U.S. vaccination rates have dipped below 500,000 doses per day, which had been a lower threshold in July.  

“We did expect that rates of newly vaccinated would decline over time as they have in other countries with more mature vaccination programs,” Psaki said. 

There have also been similar declines in vaccination rates in countries with advanced vaccination programs. Examples include the United Kingdom, Israel and Canada. “As a greater percentage of the population is vaccinated, the [vaccination] numbers per day had declined,” Psaki noted. Officials in the U.S. had expected a similar trend in the U.S. 

McKinsey recently concluded that to reach the proverbial state of herd immunity, some 80 million unvaccinated Americans would need to be vaccinated in coming months.

Give the current vaccination rate, such a prospect seems like a remote possibility.

But President Biden’s push for vaccine mandates could spur more vaccinations in coming months. 

Psaki noted that proposed OSHA vaccine regulations for businesses with more than 100 workers have not formally been implemented. “But already to date, a number of companies, institutions and organizations” have embraced vaccine mandates for workers, Psaki said. 

A recent survey from Gartner found that 46% plan on implementing vaccine mandates when legally feasible. Another 36% were unsure of their organization’s plans.

The reason Biden announced vaccine mandates in mid-September is “because he knows we need to do more,” Psaki added. “We’re going to continue to do more.”