For the first time, COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States nearly a million doses per day

Trolling effort for vaccinate the American population against COVID-19 is finally gaining momentum, raising hopes that a growing number of Americans can soon be vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday that more than 951,000 doses of the vaccine had been given to people nationwide. This is by far the fastest daily vaccination rate since the launch of the rollout a month ago and a big jump from the previous day, when just under 340,000 doses were administered.

The first one COVID-19[female[feminine The vaccine, which was produced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech, began shipping to the United States on December 13.

Tuesday, the federal government gave the green light to states to vaccinate anyone over 65, a move to increase the number of Americans who may seek protection from the coronavirus. Previously, the United States has said states should reserve their doses for healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes. The government has also said it will release all doses of the vaccine it has for distribution.

The shift in strategy follows growing concerns that the government’s vaccination effort, a key part of the Trump administration Operation Warp Speed ​​Initiative, has not lived up to its name. A number of states have recently opened mass vaccination sites and have started to deviate from the federal plan. To that end, New York City officials announced on Friday that they would begin vaccinating teachers and residents over 75 as early as this week.

The decision to relaunch vaccinations also comes as COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise. As of Tuesday alone, there were more than 235,000 new coronavirus infections in the United States and 4,470 deaths attributed to the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

“I am really surprised that it has apparently been faster to plan, develop and mass produce a vaccine than to develop and implement a plan to deploy it,” said Andrew Read, professor of biology and entomology at Penn State University.

Even with the recent resumption of vaccinations, more than two-thirds of the doses sent to states have yet to be administered. As of Tuesday, nearly 30 million doses had been shipped to all 50 states as well as to US territories. Of these, according to CDC data, only 10.3 million – about 30% – had fallen into people’s arms.