• U.S. tops 3 million COVID-19 vaccinations a day,
For the first time, more than 3 million people, on average, are receiving a COVID-19 vaccine each day in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The milestone reflects a steady increase in the capacity of states to deliver shots into arms. In early March, the nation surpassed an average of 2 million doses administered each day, while the average had hovered at around 800,000 doses a day in mid-January.
And nearly one-third of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as more states expand eligibility and production ramps up.
The news, which comes as President Joe Biden enters the homestretch of his first 100 days in office and amid the general declines in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations since January, offers a sign of hope for a weary nation. But the average number of new reported cases has risen 19% over the past two weeks, and federal health officials say that complacency about the coronavirus could bring on another severe wave of infections.
“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week. “But right now, I’m scared.”
The rising vaccination rate has prompted some state officials to accelerate their rollout schedules. This past week, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont expanded access to everyone 16 and older several days ahead of schedule. And Colorado Gov. Jared Polis opened universal eligibility about two weeks earlier than planned.
“No more having to sort out if you’re in or if you’re out,” said Julie Willems Van Dijk, the deputy secretary of the Department of Health Services in Wisconsin, where anyone 16 or older will be eligible Monday. “It’s time to just move forward and get everybody with a shot in their arm.”
In another promising development, federal health officials said Friday that Americans who are fully vaccinated can travel “at low risk to themselves” within the U.S. and abroad.
But these days, most signs of hope are offset by peril.
In the past week, there has been an average of 64,730 cases per day, a 19% jump from two weeks earlier, according to a New York Times database. Deaths on average have declined, but they are still hovering around 900 a day.
The CDC predicted this past week that the number of new COVID-19 cases per week in the U.S. would “remain stable or have an uncertain trend” over the next four weeks and that weekly case numbers could be as high as about 700,000 in late April.
Cases are already increasing significantly in many states, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast, as virus variants spread and some governors relax mask mandates and other restrictions. Dr. Walensky said this past week that if states and cities continued to loosen public health restrictions, the nation could face a potential fourth wave.
Michigan, one of the worst-hit states, is reporting nearly 6,000 cases a day — up from about 1,000 a day in late February — even though half of its residents over 65 are now fully vaccinated.
And in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said that new variants were aggravating the state’s caseload, even as vaccinations picked up. “We have to understand that we are in a battle,” he said.
As if to underscore how fragile the nation’s recovery is, a quintessential American ritual — the start of the baseball season — has already faced a virus-related delay.
MLB officials said Friday that the league had found only five positive cases in morethan 14,000 tests. But because four of those cases were among Washington Nationals players, the team’s opening day game against the New York Mets was postponed, and then the team’s three-game weekend series.
“It’s one of those things that brings it to light that we’re not through it yet,” said Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker.