US Fully Vaccinates 35% Of Its Citizens; 58.7% Receive Single Dose

Summary

• The US has fully vaccinated 35.4% of its population and at least one dose to 58.7% of its citizens till date.
• The vaccination drive has slowed down recently as those who were at risk have been immunized.
• Immunization for children in the age group of 12-15 has started from May 13.

The US has fully vaccinated 35.4% of its population and at least one dose to 58.7% of its citizens till date, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDS), the nodal agency for eradicating the virus.

They were given either of the three covid drugs - Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J) - approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Around 58.7% of its citizens or 147,033,405 people have received at least a single dose so far.

Furthermore, of the 337 million doses produced since December 14, 2020, a total of 264.6 million shots, or 78.5%, have been administered.

The US has been one of the worst affected countries with 32.6 million cases and over 0.58 million deaths so far. The rapid vaccination has helped reduce the threat significantly in recent weeks.

Also Read: China Ramps Up Diplomacy As World Comes Calling For Vaccines

Pic Credit: Pixabay.

Also Read: COVID-19: How Well Have The Vaccine Makers Performed?

Why has vaccination drive slowed down?

The rate of vaccination has come down to 2.6 million doses per day from 3.4 million doses daily reported in mid-April. The slow down has been attributed to the lower number of people in the high-risk category as most of them have already been vaccinated.

Also, those who have had easy access to the drugs took the shots. However, there are still a segment  of the populace that refused to take the shot on personal grounds.

Health experts that said more awareness is required to bring them on board as well as efforts to reach out to those who are living in the remote areas of the country.

Also Read: WHAT All You Need To Know About Intranasal COVID 19 Treatments And Vaccines?

Various government agencies are currently engaged in the awareness drives. It is observed that some communities, such as Hispanics and blacks, have been lagging in vaccination. Farmers as well as religious leaders have been involved to reach out to all sections of the society.

States like Arkansas, New Mexico, West Virginia, where the pace of vaccination has slowed down recently, have been re-energized through awareness campaigns and bolstering the local health network for reaching out to maximum number of people.

West Virginia has seen a drop in vaccination for four straight weeks. The healthcare professionals and business leaders have been approached to spread the message.

Also Read: The Stocks in Action || Did Starpharma (ASX:SPL) develop an antiviral nasal spray for COVID-19?

Vaccine for Children

The federal government has started vaccinating kids aged 12-15 with the Pfizer BioNTech drug from May 13 following CDC’s approval. The shots will be given at schools, hospitals, beaches, and parks.