There are renewed concerns that the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in the US are going in the wrong direction. Hospitalization rates are increasing and the number of cases is rising in 33 states.
Almost 15% of the total US population, however, is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, and almost half of the elderly aged 65 and over are fully vaccinated.
A daily record of more than 3.3 million shots what was reported on Friday, bringing the total number of doses administered in the United States to more than 136 million.
“We have the weapon that wins the war, we have the weapon that kills the enemy. But it has to be here,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday, pointing at his arm.
The momentum for vaccination has increased even more this week – from the opening of emerging centers in New York to the Salvation Army reaching the needy in Los Angeles, reports Michael George for “CBS This Morning: Saturday”. The government also announced plans to double the number of soldiers to reinforce the effort to distribute the vaccine.
The USA is now one of the top countries in the world in COVID-19 vaccination, with more to come. US vaccine supplies are expected to receive a major boost this week. Johnson & Johnson says it is ready to supply 11 million extra doses.
Forty-seven states say that anyone aged 16 or over will be eligible to receive a vaccine by May 1. New York, Arkansas and Wyoming have yet to commit.
“It is clear that there are reasons for optimism, but not for relaxation,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Friday.
As cases are increasing in many states, many people are still dying.
“The most recent seven-day average is about 57,000 cases per day, which represents a seven percent increase over the previous seven days,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky on Friday. “The most recent seven-day average of new hospitalizations, about 4,700 per day, also represents a slight increase over the previous seven-day period. The seven-day average of deaths continues to hover at 1,000 deaths per day.”
“I am still deeply concerned about this trajectory,” she said.
Scientists are still trying to find out whether vaccinated people can spread the virus. They are studying 12,000 vaccinated university students and their contacts to try to answer that.
“We hope that, in the next five months, we will be able to answer the very important question about whether vaccinated people are infected asymptomatically and, if they do, spread the infection to others,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.