Older adults still make up most Covid-19 hospitalizations, CDC report says, but concern grows over lack of vaccination

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/health/older-adults-covid-hospitalizations-cdc-report/index.html

From January through August, adults 65 and older accounted for about 63% of all Covid-19 hospitalizations, 61% of intensive care unit admissions and 88% of in-hospital deaths associated with Covid-19, according to the report published Friday by the CDC.

Most of those hospitalized older adults had underlying health conditions, such as diabetes or kidney disorders, and less than one-quarter – only 23.5% – had received the bivalent vaccine that was recommended at the time...

The data also showed that about three-quarters – 76.5% – of the older adults who were hospitalized for Covid-19 from January through June had not received a dose of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine that was recommended at the time, and 16% had not received any Covid-19 vaccination.

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CVS CEO says pharmacist burnout led to a walkout: ‘We are at the same level of demand as we were in 2021’ for COVID shots
https://fortune.com/well/2023/10/10/cvs-pharmacist-walkout-caused-by-pandemic-burnout-covid-booster-demand-xbb15-omicron/

Pharmacists in at least a dozen Kansas City–area CVS pharmacies walked out or didn’t show up for work for three days in late September, citing stressful and unsafe working conditions. In response, the company sent its chief pharmacy officer to the area with promises to fill open positions and increase staffing levels.

It was just one of the latest examples nationwide of workers fed up and taking action. But unlike employees in recent strikes at automakers or in Hollywood, the pharmacists weren’t demanding raises or more vacation—they simply wanted more colleagues to help them.

CVS rival Walgreens is also experiencing pharmacy staff walkouts, which began Monday and were planned to last through Wednesday. Increasing demands, like administering COVID vaccines, with insufficient staff is making it impossible to do their jobs and could put customer safety in jeopardy, employees told CNN.

This fall, drugstores are facing more challenges than usual. Customers not only expect to fill prescriptions, but to potentially receive COVID-19, flu, and pneumonia vaccines, in addition to a new RSV shot for those 60 and older.

The federal government is no longer offering free COVID jabs for everyone, meaning insurance will have to be run for many customers receiving one. And ongoing drug shortages are keeping pharmacy workers on the phone for longer than usual.

Unexpected demand for new COVID boosters?
Making matters more difficult, CVS pharmacies are experiencing “the same level of demand that we were in 2021” for COVID shots, Lynch said Monday at the Fortune conference, held in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Coronavirus vaccines became widely available to the public for the first time that year.

“Some days we’re doing more per day than we were back then,” she said. “There’s been incredible demand.”