More than 66 million Americans are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 – but cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned.
By Friday, more than 112 million people in the U.S. – or 33.7% of the population – had received at least one dose of vaccine, while 66.2 million people – or 19.9% of the population – were completely inoculated. , shows CDC data.
That means “more than a quarter of all adult Americans who are now fully vaccinated,” Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Friday.
But even as more and more Americans are stung, the pandemic continues to be strong.
The current seven-day average of new cases increases by about 2% from the previous seven-day period – to more than 64,000 a day, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during the hearing.
About 74,860 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States on Thursday, she added.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are growing even faster.
The national seven-day hospitalization average rose to about 5,300 – an increase of about 7% from the previous seven-day period, CDC data show.
“On the one hand, we have so many reasons for optimism and hope, and more Americans are vaccinated and protected by COVID-19,” Walensky said. “On the other hand, the cases and visits to the emergency room are up.”
The CDC director explained that the increase in the number of cases is caused by younger adults, “most of whom have not yet been vaccinated.”
Upticks in infections have also been “increased in some regions of the country, such as the Upper Midwest,” she added.
In states such as Michigan and Minnesota, there have been an increasing number of virus cases related to the highly contagious variant of the United Kingdom, known as B.1.1.7.
“In both states, there are concerns about broadcasting in youth sports, both in club sports and in affiliated sports in schools,” Walensky explained.
“What’s happening in Minnesota and Michigan is similar to what we’re seeing across the country – growing reports of youth sports cases.”
But, she added, “I want to be clear as cases grow in the community, we expect the cases identified in schools to grow as well. This is not necessarily indicative of schooling. ”
Meanwhile, on the vaccine front, the US is now averaging 3 million vaccinations a day, up from 2.9 million last week, Zients said.
A total of more than 28 million vaccines were delivered to states, tribes and territories through federal channels this week alone, he noted.
This is “more than enough supply to maintain and increase our current seven-day average of 3 million photos a day,” Zients insisted.
But as a way to combat unwanted growth in cases, the federal government will prioritize and increase resources to affected states.
Federations will work with states “to make sure they use all the doses they have received,” Zients said.
“Millions of doses have been distributed today, but they have not yet been administered as gunfire.”
In addition, federals will “increase” staff, including CDC response teams, to those states “to support vaccination efforts and get more shots in the arms,” to increase testing capacity, and to provide more ” therapies and treatments, ”the White House coronavirus response coordinator said.
“We are working to put this pandemic behind us as soon as we can,” Zients said. “We all need to keep our guard up and finish this job.”
COVID-19-related deaths in the United States continue to fall, with a current seven-day average of 711, according to CDC data.