The U.S. reached a key milestone in its fight against COVID-19 on Friday, with half of Americans now fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 165.9 million Americans, or 50% of the population of all ages, are fully vaccinated, with 193.7 million having received at least one dose as of Friday.
According to White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar, Friday’s data totals include 565,000 newly vaccinated Americans, and the one-week average of new vaccinations is up 11% from the last week, and up 44% over two weeks.
The increase in vaccinations comes as the country sees a spike in cases due to the highly-contagious delta variant, which experts say accounts for about 80% of new cases. White House officials have said they believe the uptick in people headed to get inoculated is because the states hardest hit by the virus are seeing how the delta variant poses a greater risk.
“Clearly, Americans are seeing the impact of being unvaccinated and unprotected,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing on Thursday. “And they responded by doing their part, rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated.”
In the states with the highest case rates, Zients said the number of people newly vaccinated each day over the past three weeks more than doubled. That helped the U.S. reach President Joe Biden’s goal to vaccinate 70% of adults, a month later than his initial July 4 target.
Also in the news:
► More than 11 million Californians who get their insurance through Medicaid will be offered a $50 incentive to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the state announced Friday.
►Students are asking the Supreme Court to block a plan by Indiana University to require that all students and faculty members be fully vaccinated in order to return to campus. It’s the first case where the Supreme Court is being asked to weigh in on vaccine mandates.
► A Washington state elementary school teacher and National Guard reservist has won the final COVID-19 vaccination lottery award in the state, and will take home the $250,000 prize. Meredith V. is the third winner, after two other vaccinated people from the state each took home $100,000.
► The San Francisco sheriff deputies’ union said “a percentage” of the more than 160 employees it represents are rejecting getting the vaccine, and will quit or retire early if forced to do so. The city mandated that its employees working in jails and other high-risk settings are required to be vaccinated by Sept. 15 or risk losing their jobs.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has had more than 35.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 616,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 201.6 million cases and 4.2 million deaths. More than 165.9 million Americans – 50% of the population – have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
📘 What we’re reading: USA TODAY editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll’s brother is one of the many Americans who says he won’t get vaccinated. She asked him why, and wrote about the frank conversation they had on vaccine safety. Read the full story.
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Florida reports worst week for new COVID-19 cases
Florida just reported its worst week ever for new cases during the pandemic, with 134,751 cases, 7% worse than the previous record week from January. At the pace of the latest week, a Floridian tests positive every 4.5 seconds. Florida’s report showed slightly fewer cases in the latest week than the difference between totals actually reflects.
Florida’s newest report lists 175 deaths in the last week, but the state’s tally actually shows 616 more deaths in the state’s total than were in last week’s report. That means a Floridian dies every 16 minutes, about half the pace of the state’s worst week. That pace has nearly quadrupled from mid-July.
With Florida’s Friday count compared to other states’ Thursday tallies, Florida ranks behind only Louisiana in per-capita new infections per week.
– Mike Stucka
Dr. Anthony Fauci: Expect ‘a flood’ of vaccine mandates after full FDA approval
As soon as the Food and Drug Administration issues a full approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, there will be “a flood” of vaccine mandates at businesses and schools across the nation, Dr. Anthony Fauci told USA TODAY’s editorial board on Friday.
Mandates aren’t going to happen at the federal level, but vaccine approval will embolden many groups, he predicted.
“Organizations, enterprises, universities, colleges that have been reluctant to mandate at the local level will feel much more confident,” he said.
Fauci doesn’t see more lockdowns in the nation’s future. They were issued early in the pandemic to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed, known as “flattening the curve.”
– Elizabeth Weise
Dr. Fauci on back to school:‘Anybody who is anywhere near a child … should be vaccinated’
Study: Vaccines help protect even those who previously had COVID
A CDC study released on Friday pushes back on one of the main reasons Americans cite for not wanting to get the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the study, people who got vaccinated after having a previous infection received a boost of immunity.
According to a survey released this week by Gallup, 18% of people who say they will not get vaccinated say their reasoning is that they already have antibodies from a prior infection. This is one of the three largest reasons why Americans say they are vaccine-resistant, with equal numbers of people saying they either want to wait until the vaccine is confirmed as safe with full FDA approval or they don’t trust vaccines in general.
But the study released by the CDC showed that people who had previously had COVID and did not get vaccinated were more than twice as likely to get reinfected as those who had COVID and then got vaccinated afterward.
“If you have had COVID-19 before, please still get vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “Getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others around you, especially as the more contagious delta variant spreads around the country.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
