More than 70% of Americans at least 65 years old now fully inoculated as U.S. Covid cases, vaccinations fall
A sign on the ground directs people to get their COVID-19 vaccine at UCI Health Family Health Center in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, April 28, 2021.
Paul Bersebach | MediaNews Group | Orange County Register via Getty Images
More than 70% of Americans aged 65 and older are fully vaccinated, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Wednesday.
CDC data shows an average of 2.1 million reported vaccinations per day over the past week, down from a peak of 3.4 million in mid-April.
At the same time, the rate of new infections fell further. About 46,600 new cases are being reported each day in the U.S., based on a seven-day average of Johns Hopkins University data, the lowest level since the fall.
U.S. share of the population vaccinated
About 45% of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, and nearly one-third are fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.
Among seniors, one of the most vulnerable groups and to whom vaccine eligibility opened earliest, those figures are much higher. 83% are at least partially vaccinated and more than 70% are fully vaccinated.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday set a goal of getting 70% of U.S. adults to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by July 4. As of Wednesday, about 57% of adults have done so.
U.S. vaccine shots administered
With 1.8 million vaccinations reported Wednesday, the latest seven-day average of daily shots administered is 2.1 million per day, according to CDC data.
The rate of reported daily vaccinations has been on the decline for weeks, down 37% from the high point a few weeks ago.
U.S. Covid cases
The U.S. is reporting an average of 46,600 daily new infections over the past seven days, according to Hopkins data, down 11% from a week ago.
Daily case counts have fallen by at least 5% over the past week in more than half of the states.
The CDC said Wednesday that its projections show U.S. cases will likely surge again due to the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant, peaking in May and then falling sharply in July.
High rates of vaccination coverage and compliance with pandemic safety measures “are essential to control COVID-19 and prevent surges in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months,” federal health officials wrote in the report.
U.S. Covid deaths
The latest seven-day average of U.S. Covid deaths is 686, Hopkins data shows, and the total death toll throughout the course of the pandemic is nearly 580,000.
