The US on Monday hit the government’s goal of administering at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 70 percent of adults almost a month late, as the newest wave of infections pushed hospitalizations to levels seen last summer.
US President Joe Biden’s administration had initially targeted Independence Day on July 4 to reach the goal and declare victory over the worst of the pandemic, but falling vaccination rates, particularly in politically conservative regions, and among younger people, those with lower income and racial minorities, meant the objective was missed.
While 60.6 percent of eligible adults and 49.7 percent of the total population are now fully vaccinated, the US has fallen behind its northern neighbor Canada, which started its immunization campaign later, but has now fully vaccinated 59 percent of its population.
Photo: AFP
It comes as the US is being battered by a new wave of infections driven by the contagious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which has sent national daily cases soaring to beyond 70,000, according to data that excludes unreliable weekend numbers.
Across the nation, hospitals are seeing on average more than 6,200 daily COVID-19 admissions, while more than 300 people are dying every day.
“These cases are concentrated in communities with lower vaccination rates,” White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters.
“One in three cases nationwide occurred in Florida and Texas this past week,” he said.
In a silver lining, states that lagged behind in their vaccination rates are now beginning to catch up, the latest data showed.
The eight states with the highest current case rates have seen an average increase of 171 percent in their daily vaccination rate compared with three weeks ago, Zients said.
They include Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.
Momentum is also picking up for vaccine mandates in the private sector, with Disney and Walmart implementing new requirements and incentives for employees.
Last week, Biden’s administration announced federal workers would need to either get vaccinated or submit to regular tests, following similar steps by California and New York.
While the Delta variant poses the strongest threat yet to vaccine protection, the current generation of shots are continuing to keep the vast majority of vaccinated people out of hospital and alive.
According to cumulative data reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 24, vaccination resulted in an eightfold reduction in disease incidence, and a 25-fold reduction in hospitalizations and deaths.
In the state of Tennessee last month, 97 percent of all COVID-19 hospitalizations and 98 percent of deaths were among unvaccinated people, data showed.
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