100 million fully vaccinated against COVID in United States, White House announces
More than 100 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States, federal health officials announced Friday, April 30, during a White House COVID-19 briefing.
The number includes those who received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It accounts for about 30% of the U.S. population, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker.
About 38% of the adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, and about 68% of seniors over age 65.
The latest milestone is almost double the 55 million Americans who were fully vaccinated just a month ago, the White House said.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser for the White House COVID-19 Response Team, took to Twitter Friday to reflect how vaccinations have influenced coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S.
The news comes the same week the CDC announced new COVID-19 guidance for fully vaccinated Americans.
Now, people who are two weeks post their final doses of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine can ditch masks when outdoors “except in certain crowded settings and venues,” such as live performances, parades or sports events. Vaccinated Americans should still wear masks indoors, however, especially when around unvaccinated people.
“This is an American achievement, a powerful demonstration of unity and resolve, what unity will do for us, and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we pull together as one people for a common goal,” said President Joe Biden on April 21, when the U.S. met his goal to administer 200 million vaccine doses by his first 100 days in office, CBS News reported.
The total includes vaccine doses administered under former President Donald Trump.
The coronavirus outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, possibly after the virus passed to humans from bats and pangolins, an Asian scaly anteater, McClatchy News reported.
More than 150.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide with more than 3.1 million deaths as of April 30, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 32.2 million confirmed cases with more than 575,000 deaths.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 11:19 AM with the headline "100 million fully vaccinated against COVID in United States, White House announces."
