Dr. Jerry Abraham, director of Kedren Vaccines, right, administers a COVID-19 vaccine to 16-year-old Jose Guzman-Wug while his mother, Adriana Wug, watches over Kedren Health on Thursday, April 15 from 2021 to Los Angeles, CA.
Allen J. Paneroles | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Half of all American adults have now received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which marks a major milestone in the country’s largest vaccine campaign.
According to the CDC, more than 129 million people over the age of 18 have received at least one shot, or 50.4% of the total adult population. More than 83 million adults, or 32.5% of the total adult population, are fully vaccinated with one of three vaccines approved in the U.S.
The milestone comes a day after the global death toll from the virus exceeded 3 million people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with a global mortality of 12,000 every day on average.
In the US, the rate of new daily cases of Covid-19 nationwide remains high. The country reports an average of 68,000 new infections every day. CDC data show an average of 3.3 million reported daily doses of vaccine administered last week.
Covid-19 White House Response Coordinator Jeff Zients has said the pause in vaccinations against Johnson & Johnson, which came after the notification of six cases of rare cerebral blood clots, would not slow the vaccine campaign, as the country has enough supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said Sunday that he believes the U.S. is likely to resume use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with a warning or restriction attached and anticipates a decision as soon as Friday, when the CDC vaccine advisory group to discuss resumption.
“My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some way,” Fauci said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I doubt very seriously if they just cancel it. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”