April 3 (UPI) — The United States has administered at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose to more than 100 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The country hit the 100 million milestone Friday after setting an “all-time record” of nearly 4 million doses administered Thursday, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted.
Overall, 101.8 million have received at least one dose, which equates to 30.7% of the U.S. population, and 57.9 million, or 17.5%, were fully vaccinated as of Friday, according to the COVID Data Tracker.
Those aged at least 65 have the highest vaccination rate with 74.4% having received the first dose and 53.5% fully vaccinated, the CDC said. The United States, like other countries, has prioritized vaccinating the older population, which is more vulnerable to series effects from the novel coronavirus.
The United States now leads the world in the total number of doses administered, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker. But as far as number of doses per percentage of population, the United States still trails at least 10 countries, including Israel, Britain, and Turks and Caicos.
At least 19 states had opened vaccine eligibility to everyone ages 16 and older, as of Friday, ABC News reported, with the rest planning to open for vaccination for the same age group soon.
Alabama announced Friday that people ages 16 or older will be able to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, joining more than 40 states that had announced plans to make the vaccine available to all adults in time to meet President Joe Biden’s May 1 deadline, Business Insider’s interactive map shows.
“Truly, this vaccine is our ticket back to normal life,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement Friday.
State-by-state, New Mexico has the highest vaccination rate with 39.5% of the population having received a first dose and 24.8% fully vaccinated, according to Bloomberg COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker.
New Mexico, Florida, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee will expand eligibility to ages 16 and older Monday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, has told Bloomberg that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the U.S. population would allow a return to normalcy.
At the current vaccination rate of nearly 3 million doses a day, on average, it will take another four months to cover 75% of the population, Bloomberg reported.
The United States has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths worldwide, at more than 30.6 million cases and over half a million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University global tracker.
