COVID-19: White House confirms half of US adult population fully vaccinated against virus

Half of the total United States population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, said White House COVID-19 Data Director Dr Cyrus Shahpar on Friday, August 6. Taking to Twitter, Dr Cyrus Shahpar informed that "50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going!". Shahpar in his tweet further mentioned that more than 8,21,000 doses have also been administered in the US including 5,65,000 newly vaccinated people.

50% of Americans fully vaccinated

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) also updated its tally and showed that 165,918,256 people or 50 per cent of the total US population has been fully vaccinated. The United States President Joe Biden has been urging Americans to get vaccinated against Coronavirus. It is worth mentioning that 70 per cent of US adults have been vaccinated with at least one shot against COVID-19. Biden had aimed to administer at least one dose of vaccine to 70% of adults by the Fourth of July. However, Biden’s Fourth of July goal was achieved about a month behind its schedule.

The US is presently witnessing a rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant. Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, a rise in hospitalisations has led to mandatory masks being reinstated in several parts of the US. Addressing a press briefing via teleconference on Thursday, August 5, the White House COVID-19 response team informed that Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi states have low vaccination rates. Furthermore, Zients said that over the past seven days, Florida and Texas have accounted for about one-third of new cases and more than one-third of new hospitalizations nationwide.

COVID-19 situation in the US

According to US CDC, as on Friday, August 6, US reported 120,173 new COVID-19 cases which brought the overall tally to 35,530,951. The country reported 700 new deaths which took the number of fatalities to 613,658. According to US CDC, 193,764,457 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 165,918,256 people have received both doses of vaccine. 70.6 per cent of US adults have received at least one dose of vaccine. 

IMAGE: AP