The rate of new US coronavirus cases remains high as the country seeks to ramp up its vaccination campaign following the suspension of sales of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine.
The country reports about 71,200 new Covid cases daily, based on a seven-day average of data from Johns Hopkins University. This is well below the country’s winter peak, but on par with the summer surge, when the average daily cases were more than 67,000.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that an average of 3.3 million daily doses of vaccine have been administered over the past week.
A CDC panel on Wednesday decided to postpone a decision on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine while investigating the cases of six women with a bleeding disorder.
US vaccine shots administered
After 2.5 million vaccine doses given Wednesday, the US has received an average of 3.3 million daily vaccinations over the past week. This daily average was over 3 million for eight consecutive days.
US officials say discontinuing use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine will not slow the vaccine’s rollout in the country as Moderna and Pfizer are adequately supplied to maintain the current rate of vaccination.
According to CDC data, approximately 7.5 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of nearly 195 million total doses have been administered in the US. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines make up the bulk of the vaccines given to Americans to date.
US percentage of the vaccinated population
Approximately 37% of the US population have had at least one Covid vaccine, and 23.1% are fully vaccinated.
Of those 65 and older, about 80% have received one or more doses, and 63% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
US Covid cases
The 7-day average of daily new coronavirus cases in the US is 71,282, according to Johns Hopkins, an 8% increase from a week ago.
In Michigan – the state that has the worst per capita outbreak in the country – the number of infections continues to rise. The state reports a 7-day average of nearly 7,900 new cases per day and is approaching the state’s pandemic high of more than 8,300 a day recorded in December.
Overall, cases are increasing in 33 states and Washington, DC
US Covid deaths
The US reported 956 Covid deaths on Wednesday, Hopkins data shows, bringing the country’s total pandemic deaths to over 564,400.
