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DENVER (KDVR) — The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are designed to be effective when given in two doses, but some are skipping the second step.

A Centers for Disease Control study shows more than five million people in the U.S. skipped their second vaccine because they couldn’t get an appointment or didn’t want to deal with side effects.

 One Denver resident tells FOX31 “a super distant cousin says he wasn’t getting it.”

Health experts warn not receiving the full course of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine can put your health at risk.

“We actually want people to have some side effects because we know the body is reacting well to that second dose and creating more antibodies,” said Ozzie Grenardo of Centura Health.

Katrina Bellis, organizer of the Colorado Vaccine Hunters Facebook Page tells FOX31 some are confusing the two dose vaccines with the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. She hopes everyone will follow health guidelines in order to protect family and friends.

“Let’s show the world our faces again and our smiles, just, get the second shot,” she said.

Centura Health will make 2,500 vaccines available on Thursday in Commerce City for patients needing their second dose of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. 

More information about appointments in Colorado can be found here.