Delayed effort to vaccinate the US population against COVID-19 is finally increasing speed, raising hopes that an increasing number of Americans may be inoculated soon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday that more than 951,000 doses of the vaccine had been given to people across the country. This is by far the fastest daily rate of vaccinations since its launch a month ago and a big leap from the previous day, when just under 340,000 doses were given.
The first COVID-19 The vaccine, which was produced by drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech, began shipping in the United States on December 13.
Tuesday, the federal government gave the states the green light to vaccinate anyone over the age of 65, a move aimed at increasing the number of Americans who could seek protection against coronavirus. Earlier, the United States said states should set aside doses for health care workers and nursing home residents. The government has also said it will release all doses of vaccine it has for distribution.
The change in strategy follows growing concerns about the government’s vaccination effort, a key element of the Trump administration Operation Warp Speed initiative, did not live up to its name. A number of states have recently opened mass vaccination sites and have begun to deviate from the federal plan. To that end, New York officials said Friday that they will begin vaccinating teachers and residents over the age of 75 as early as this week.
The transition to rapid vaccinations also begins as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise. On Tuesday alone, there were more than 235,000 new coronavirus infections in the United States and 4,470 deaths attributed to the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
“I’m really surprised that it was apparently faster to plan, develop and mass-produce a vaccine than to develop and implement a plan to launch it,” said Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology at Penn State University. .
Even with the recent harvest of vaccinations, more than two-thirds of the doses sent to states have not yet been administered. As of Tuesday, nearly 30 million doses had been shipped to all 50 states as well as the United States. Of these, according to the CDC, only 10.3 million – about 30% – have entered people’s arms.