Growing numbers of people are getting vaccinated in areas hit hard by the Delta variant, offering a glimmer of hope but still falling far short of what is needed to fight Covid-19, public-health officials say.
Several factors are driving the increase in vaccinations, including worries about the infectiousness and severity of the Delta variant, growing confidence in the safety of vaccines and the influence of family and friends, health officials and residents say. More employers are implementing vaccine mandates, including a Walmart Inc. requirement for corporate staff announced Friday.
Some states with soaring case counts and hospitalizations have logged upticks in their low vaccination rates. In Alabama, where 35% of people are fully vaccinated, the seven-day average of daily vaccinations reached 10,732 on July 28, more than double the figure on July 7, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In Arkansas, where 37% are fully vaccinated, the seven-day average more than doubled to 8,676 over that period, and in Missouri, where 41% are fully vaccinated, it more than doubled to 13,103.
In the U.S. as a whole, 50% of the population is fully vaccinated. The seven-day average of daily doses climbed to about 535,000 on July 27, compared with a recent low of around 431,000 on July 8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As the cases are spreading, it gets people’s attention that I guess this isn’t over,” said Dr. John Waits, chief executive of Cahaba Medical Care, a community health center with locations across central Alabama. “It’s forcing people to take a second look” at vaccinations.