United States President Joe Biden has successfully hit his target of vaccinating at least 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine which, experts believe, is a crucial factor in the fight against the pandemic.
The country experienced a severely slowed down inoculation process in April but has since observed a massive surge of people getting their vaccines. The primary reason for the lack of hesitancy now is the new Delta variant that has been quickly spreading throughout the nation.
Hitting the Vaccination Milestone
As of Friday, the United States recorded an average of more than 72,000 new confirmed cases every day, as revealed by data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On Monday, Biden's administration reported that they administered 468,000 in the last 24 hours, 320,000.
Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director, posted a statement on Twitter where he called that day a "Milestone Monday." The official also revealed that one week prior to Monday the number of people who got their first shots was recorded at 257,000, Bloomberg reported.
Shahpar noted that the country's seven-day average of newly vaccinated individuals rose to 441,000, the highest average that authorities have recorded since June. Biden set his goal in early May to vaccinate at least 70% of adult Americans by Independence Day. Despite falling short on July 4 with only 67% of adults inoculated, the vaccination process continued across the region.
The Delta variant has caused a surge in cases in recent weeks, increasing to 150% in the last two weeks. The primary cause of the spread is unvaccinated hotspots in the country, including Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. The country is seeing more hospitalizations as Florida has hit a new daily record which was set before vaccines were available, Yahoo News reported.
Increase of Daily Vaccinations
While authorities reported a rise in the number of fatalities, it does not surpass the death tolls in previous waves. There have also been more breakthrough cases than experts have initially anticipated. The situation forced officials to implement new local mask mandates, which many residents are fighting back against.
The CDC recently released data that showed vaccinated individuals can still spread the disease but have a much lower chance of experiencing severe symptoms and hospitalization. This has urged medical experts to encourage residents to get vaccinated to avoid more deaths as the Delta variant continues to spread nationwide, Politico reported.
Over the last month, authorities have recorded the daily vaccination rate increased to be at 550,000. The number for first doses, on the other hand, has been rising faster by about 75% in the same timeline. In the last two weeks, officials reported that more than five million Americans have gotten their first shots. Authorities are even more grateful as the numbers come from undervaccinated regions in the country that the Delta variant is ravaging.
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