Vaccinations in the United States exceed 50 million
Britain’s health minister believes Covid will be something people can “live with” until the end of the year
Patty Castillo, 46, is receiving coronavirus vaccination at a self-established port workers’ center in Long Beach, California on Saturday. (Reuters photos)
The United States has administered more than 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the two months since the photos were released, figures said on Saturday.
The 50.1 million photos administered in the United States represent 30% of the 168 million doses administered in 77 countries so far, according to Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
In the United Kingdom, which, along with the United States, has made the most progress in vaccinations among the major economies, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said coronavirus was expected to become a treatable disease that people could ” live, as we do the flu ”by the end of the year.
He made the comment in an interview with Daily Telegraph, which reported that the British government was preparing to provide details on the new drugs that will be quickly tracked through the clinical trial system.
Meanwhile, Oxford University will begin testing the Covid vaccine it developed with AstraZeneca on children, another potentially key step in ending the global pandemic.
The Oxford trial plans to enroll 300 children between the ages of 6 and 17, the university said on Saturday. The first vaccinations will take place this month, with up to 240 children receiving the coronavirus vaccine, and the rest a meningitis vaccine, which should produce similar side effects. AstraZeneca in the US expects a larger trial with thousands of children to take place later.
In the United States, 36.8 million people have now received at least one dose of vaccine, and of the 12.8 million have been completely vaccinated with a second shot.
According to Bloomberg, more than 1.7 million doses are administered daily in the United States, based on an average of seven days.
In a similar vein, President Joe Biden has so far ruled out requiring coronavirus testing for all passengers on the flights, saying scientific evidence does not support the implementation of the measure.
A statement from the White House said the Centers for Disease Control does not recommend such tests, and Biden will follow suit.