The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that younger Americans are less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than older Americans.
The federal health agency issued a report Monday revealing that just 38% of adults between 18 and 29 years of age had received at least one dose of a vaccine by May 22, compared to 80% of adults older than 65.
The report also found that the percentage of 18- to 29-year-old Americans who were vaccinated between April 19, when all adults in the United States became eligible to receive the vaccine, and May 22 declined from 3.6% per week to 1.7% per week.
In another CDC study, nearly half of the 2,726 people between 18 and 39 years of age said they were either unsure about getting the vaccine or did not plan on getting the vaccine.
About 40% of younger adults said they believed others needed to be inoculated more than they did, while those considering getting the shot cited a desire to resume their regular social activities or keeping others from being infected.
Cuba vaccines
Cuba announced Monday that its three-shot COVID-19 vaccine dubbed Abdala has proved to be 92% effective in late-stage human clinical trials.
The Caribbean island had just announced that another of its domestically produced vaccines, Soberana 2, was 62% effective with just two of its three doses.
Cuba is facing its worst outbreak of COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic due to the arrival of new, more contagious variants of the virus. As of Monday, the island has posted a total of 169,365 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 1,170 deaths.
Philippines
In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to arrest anyone who refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“There is a crisis being faced in this country,” President Duterte said Monday during a nationally televised address. “I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government.”
The Pacific archipelago has more than 1.3 million confirmed coronavirus infections and 23,749 deaths. The country’s vaccination campaign has been sluggish, with a lack of vaccines and reports of low turnout at vaccination sites in the capital Manila.
New surge in Colombia
The death toll in Colombia from COVID-19 surpassed 100,000 Monday as it deals with a new surge of coronavirus infections that has sparked several weeks of antigovernment protests.
The South American nation has more than 3.9 million total COVID-19 infections, while averaging more than 500 deaths per day since the spring, according to government health officials quoted by The Washington Post. The country reported a single-day record 648 deaths on Monday.
The number of total coronavirus infections around the world now stands at more than 178.7 million cases, including more than 3.8 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The United States leads the world with more than 33.5 million total cases, including 602, 092 deaths.
