America has passed a Pandemic milestone: 1/3 of Americans are Vaccinated

Even as the pace of vaccinations falls in the U.S., the country reported passing two milestones on Friday: More than 150 million are now at least partially vaccinated, and more than a third of Americans are fully vaccinated, CDC data released Friday afternoon shows.

Data shows about 111 million Americans are fully vaccinated, about 33% of the total population in the U.S., and another 150 million people have received their fist shot of the vaccine. However, the pace of vaccinations has been slowing from its peak on April 10 of 4.6 million daily shots. Public health agencies are working harder to get shots in arms, a critical effort that could help President Joe Biden’s new goal of 70% of Americans getting at least one shot by July 4.

The milestones were announced after Pfizer and BioNTech said Friday they had submitted an application for full FDS approval for their COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 16 and older. Like other COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S., Pfizer-BioNTech is currently being administered under an emergency use authorization. In the midst of a pandemic, the FDA said it was more important to get vaccines to people quickly. Pfizer’s vaccine would become the first in the U.S. to be assessed for full FDA approval.

It is unclear how long the review will take, but Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla spoke of “the goal of securing full regulatory approval of the vaccine in the coming months,” according to a prepared statement.

After trials and 134 million shots, the vaccine has been shown to safely and effectively prevent COVID-19, and no additional safety issues have come up since the vaccine was authorized, according to the companies and periodic safety reviews by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say the FDA approval could reduce vaccine hesitancy and empower employers to require their workers to get vaccinated.

—
Photo Credit: Evgenia Parajanian / Shutterstock.com