NEW YORK – The United States has set the pace to expand the spectrum of COVID-19 vaccines, while its vaccination campaign drags on as it hit a grim milestone of 700,000 deaths in the pandemic that has entered its 19th month.
Topping the world, the United States on Friday (Oct. 1) surpassed 700,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data. Meanwhile, the average number of people getting vaccinated, at 270,531 per day, is the lowest it has been since Aug. 15, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC updated on Saturday (Oct. 2) that 214,597,690 people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, making up 64.6 percent of the whole U.S. population; fully vaccinated people stood at 184,852,416, accounting for 55.7 percent of the total. A total of 4,363,791 people, or 2.4 percent of the fully vaccinated group, received booster shots.
Trying to add some bright color to the ongoing tragedy, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing on Friday that weekly COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the United States were down by 15 percent from the previous week.
According to The New York Times’ update, the seven-day average of confirmed cases of the pandemic stood at 109,192 nationwide on Friday, with its 14-day change striking a 27-percent fall. The COVID-19-related deaths were 1,883 on Friday, with the 14-day change realizing a 5-percent decrease. (Xinhua) – bny
