Demand for COVID-19 vaccines saw dip in April, data shows

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Fewer people are wanting the vaccine, but how much of a dip in demand are we actually seeing?

Local data scientist Eric Solomon has been keeping tabs on the state’s case counts, death rate and now, vaccinations.

“Last week, things really started dropping off,” he said.

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Solomon compiled data for all the completed vaccinations in April, and Channel 9 analyzed the numbers from the start of April until now.

Overall, April started off well. Then mid-month, demand started bouncing back and forth.

This past week, Solomon recorded a 22% drop in completed vaccinations for the state.

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“We see a major drop in the 55- to 64-year-old-age group, which is an important age group here because they are a large age group,” Solomon said. “And -because they are still vulnerable to having serious cases of the virus, (it’s a) big drop there.”

That’s followed by another big drop in the 45-54 age range. Demand goes back and forth for people ages 16-44.

“What is left is the younger age groups, and there are different problems there in terms of their willingness to be vaccinated,” Solomon said.

READ: Central Florida counties put hold on COVID-19 vaccine shipments as thousands of doses sit unused

That dip in demand is something Gov. Ron DeSantis said he expected.

Right now, 56% of adults have at least one shot, and 106.5 million are fully vaccinated.

Cox Media Group