Good news has been hard to come by in the year that the coronavirus pandemic was, but with the recent approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine and an accelerated vaccination effort across the country in general, some states appear to be turning a corner. See Wisconsin, for example, where more people were vaccinated against the new disease than infected with it, state health data show.
As of Thursday, Wisconsin reported about 568,352 cases of COVID-19. But Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates on Thursday also show that nearly 650,000 people in Badger state received both doses of the vaccine, while more than 1 million received at least one dose.
For contextual purposes, Wisconsin’s total population is about 5.8 million.
Most vaccines have been administered to residents 65 years of age or older, according to state health data. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services in a tweet noted that 1 in 3 Wisconsin residents age 65 and older were vaccinated.
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The news comes after President Biden announced in a prime-time speech on Thursday that he is directing all states to ensure that all adult Americans are eligible for vaccination by May 1. The new guideline comes as part of a broader strategy that included increasing the number of local vaccines and active duty troops supporting the vaccination effort.
So far, states have limited eligibility, prioritizing high-risk individuals and frontline workers, although more states have recently expanded the field of who can get one.
BIDEN GUIDES STATES TO MAKE ALL ADULTS ELIGIBLE FOR COVID-19 VACCINES UNTIL MAY 1
Biden during his speech also set a goal for Americans to start holding meetings by July 4.
“Photos and videos from 2019 seem to have been taken in another time, the last holiday, the last birthday with friends, the last holiday with relatives,” said Biden.
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“Although it was different for everyone, we all lost something, a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice – a year full of losses of lives and lives for all of us, but in the loss, we saw how much there was to gain,” he continued. ” Finding light in the dark is very American. In fact, it may be the most American thing we do. “
Sam Dorman of Fox News contributed to this report.