U.S. vaccination pace slides further from peak levels as Covid case counts decline in most states

The United States is reporting an average of 2.7 million Covid-19 vaccinations per day over the past week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, a high daily rate but down from peak levels two weeks ago.

At the same time, the rate of daily new coronavirus infections is on the decline in the majority of states.

U.S. vaccine shots administered

Following 2.2 million doses reported Wednesday, the seven-day average of daily reported vaccinations — which is used to smooth day-of-week fluctuations in the data — is 2.7 million.

Daily reported vaccinations peaked at an average of 3.4 million on April 13.

The slowdown comes as states are once again able to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine since U.S. health regulators have lifted a pause on its use. The Food and Drug Administration and CDC had temporarily asked states to halt using the single-dose vaccine on April 13 “out of an abundance of caution” following reports of rare blood clots.

Losing the third vaccine option for a period may partly explain the country’s declining vaccination pace, as J&J was being used for an average of 425,000 reported shots per day in mid-April. But counting Pfizer and Moderna shots alone, the downward trend still holds true. The combination of those two vaccines peaked at an average of 3 million reported daily shots on April 16 and has declined 12% since.

It may take days for the renewed use of J&J shots to appear in CDC reports.

U.S. share of the population vaccinated

More than 40% of Americans have received at least one shot and three in 10 are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.

Of those age 65 and older, 82% are at least partially vaccinated and 68% are fully vaccinated.

U.S. Covid cases

The U.S. is reporting an average of 52,500 daily new cases over the past seven days, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Daily case counts have fallen by 5% or more in 34 states and the District of Columbia over the past week, including in Michigan, which has been experiencing the country’s most severe outbreak.

Though cases have been on the decline recently, the latest nationwide trend is being obscured by a reporting adjustment from the state of New Jersey. State officials announced they removed about 10,000 duplicate cases, according to Hopkins and local media reports. Although these may have been counted toward the state’s total of nearly 1 million at various points over the course of the pandemic, the removal of cases is currently being reported for April 26. That may be adjusted in the future.

U.S. Covid deaths

The seven-day average of daily U.S. Covid deaths is 682 as of Wednesday, according to Hopkins data. Nearly 575,000 deaths from the virus have been reported since the start of the pandemic.