Following a Sharp Plunge in Vaccination Numbers, The U.S Inoculation Rate Now Picking Up Pace

The rate of vaccination appears to be consistent in the United States as Americans continue to line up to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots.  Around 1.9 million shots have been administered per day over the past week, a slight drop of just 3% from the last seven days, as recorded by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.  

However, the number of COVID-19 vaccine shots administered per day has witnessed a steep decline in the first week of May. This sudden plunge in numbers had been carried forward from the second half of April that saw a 10% decline after months of fast-paced vaccination efforts. 

At present, the daily number of vaccinations is still at an all-time low as compared to the mid-April peak, when approximately 3.4 million first and second COVID-19 vaccine shots were administered each day. According to data made available by the CDC, nearly 156.2 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far. 

With these numbers in play, CDC has declared 47.1% of the entire population as fully vaccinated.  However, CDC’s data doesn’t always show real-time numbers- it usually lags behind real-world vaccinations by a minimum of 48 hours. Hence, the daily cases recorded by the CDC may differ slightly from the real day-to-day counts.

The vaccination rollout had been going on in full swing from the beginning of the year. However, the campaign has slowed down significantly, prompting medical experts to warn of the slow buildup of the unlikely ‘herd immunity’ that they wish to establish in the US population.

Although there are several reasons for the decline in vaccination numbers, the most likely cause is the widespread hesitancy in a still sizable number of citizens. Moreover, the federal regulators putting a halt to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has further exacerbated the doubts regarding the efficacy of vaccines.

Despite the slowdown in the vaccination campaign, the U.S may witness a rise in the number of the administered COVID-19 vaccine shots as children become eligible. Last week, the federal authorities approved Pfizer’s vaccine for 12- to 15-year-old which would be a significant factor in increasing the number of shots administered.