A COVID Milestone

The United States has reached a milestone in the effort to end the coronavirus pandemic. As of April 18, about 130 million adults had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s half of all adults in the country. This data comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 130 million, 84 million are fully vaccinated, with two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one of Johnson & Johnson. At this rate, the U.S. could vaccinate 70% of its population by mid-June. Experts say at least 70% must be immune before the virus is under control.

There’s still work to be done. The latest Associated Press-NORC poll found that 25% of U.S. adults are unwilling to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, the U.S. was averaging 67,000 new COVID-19 cases a day. Last month, it was 54,000 a day.

But overall, the number of people willing to get vaccinated has been rising. And more people are becoming eligible. As of April 19, anyone 16 or older can get a vaccine. Earlier in the month, Pfizer requested authorization to make children 12 to 15 eligible for its vaccine. That could happen by the fall.

“We’re making tremendous progress,” President Joe Biden said on April 18. “But we’re still in [a] race against this virus, and we need to vaccinate tens of millions more Americans.”

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