Today the U.S. administered a record-breaking one-day rate of 3.4 million vaccine doses, according to the White House covid-19 response team. Presumably, this was accomplished by the time of the team’s 1:15 pm ET tweet.
Hot vaccine summer! Maybe! For some!
According to the CDC covid-19 vaccine tracker, over 89.5 million U.S. residents have received at least one dose, and 48.6 million are fully vaccinated.
Generally, states with lower populations such as Vermont, the Dakotas, Alaska, Rhode Island, Maine, West Virginia, and Hawaii are receiving the most vaccinations per capita. Meanwhile, outlying U.S. territories including the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are far behind the national average, along with Alabama and Georgia.
Biden can take another victory lap; so far the U.S. has made good on his promise of 100 million shots in his first 100 days, and yesterday he moved the goal post to 200 million shots in that timeframe, which ends April 30th.
A few caveats: Bloomberg health care editor Drew Armstrong has reported that a backlog in reporting could be boosting the reported rates in states such as Texas. An analysis of CDC data by the Kaiser Family Foundation found earlier this month that whites are receiving vaccine doses at roughly twice the rates for Black and Latinx people. And poorer countries, too, are stuck waiting while rich countries like the U.S. distribute their plentiful stash; the unequal delay could significantly prolong the pandemic by creating more opportunity for new variants. Bloomberg’s global vaccination map shows no available data for most of Africa, while the United States has raced past most of the world.
But here’s a bit of good news for the rest of the world, along with a fun reminder that a few months ago we staring down the prospect of Trump in office and a two-year rollout timeline. Get used to wearing pants and finish that Sopranos binge watch.