Washington: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris participate in an event Thursday commemorating the administration of 50 million Covid-19 vaccine shots in the US under their watch since January 20. This marks the halfway point in Biden’s promise to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days.
Thus far 66.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country with 45.2 million of those being first doses, according to CDC data. Nearly 14% of the U.S. population has now received at least one dose.
But the grim data also says that over 500,000 have died in the country from Covid, and 29 million have been infected.
On Monday, President Biden and Vice President Harris, accompanied by their spouses, attended a ceremony with lamps and silence at the White House honoring the 500,000 American lives lost to coronavirus.
The vaccines that have been approved for emergency use in the U.S. — produced by Pfizer and Moderna — require two shots. Johnson & Johnson has developed a single-dose shot that the FDA is readying to approve for Emergency Use on Friday. On Wednesday the FDA’s scientists concluded that the J&J vaccine is about 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe Covid-19, and about 85% effective against the most serious illness.
The U.S. recorded over 3,200 deaths from Covid-19 Wednesday, even as new cases and hospitalizations remained on the decline.
