Jan. 31 (UPI) — The United States has administered 31 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency’s vaccination tracker shows that a total of 31,123,299 vaccine doses have been distributed including 25,201,143 for people receiving their first dose of the two-part vaccine regimen and 5,657,14 who have been administered the second dose.
Also, a total of 49,933,250 doses of the vaccine have been distributed throughout the country.
The new data come as President Joe Biden last week upped his vaccination goal for the first 100 days of his presidency from 100 million to 150 million in hopes that the nation will be “well on our way to heading toward herd immunity” by the summer.
Also Sunday, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security David Pekoske directed the Transportation Security Administration to enforce Biden’s executive order requiring the wearing of masks at screening checkpoints and throughout commercial and public transportation.
“Imposing these proven public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 will mitigate the safety and security threat COVID-19 poses to transportation and contribute to the overall national effort to reduce the transmission of the disease,” the Department of Homeland Security said.
The measures came as the United States reported 135,252 new COVID-19 cases and 2,640 fatalities Saturday, bringing its world-leading totals to 26,147,162 infections and 440,843 deaths, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University.
In Michigan, nine nuns at the Motherhouse Campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters died this month following an outbreak that saw 48 of the campus’ 217 residents test positive for COVID-19.
Sisters Dorothe Gramlich, 81, Helen Laier, 88, Jeannine Therese McGorray, 86, Charlotte Moser, 86, Esther Ortega, 86, Mary Lisa Rieman, 79, Ann Rena Shinkey, 87, Margaret Ann Swallow, 97, and Mary Irene Wischmeyer, 94, died between Jan. 11 and Jan. 26 after the campus had not reported any coronavirus cases prior to Dec. 20.
California, which leads the United States in cases and ranks second in deaths, added 18,974 new infections for a total of 3,243,348 and 481 fatalities bringing its death toll to 40,697.
Texas ranks second in cases adding 9,903 on Sunday to bring its total to 2,059,143 and reported 171 new fatalities raising its death toll to 36,491 — the third-highest in the nation.
Third place Florida reported 7,788 new cases and 119 resident deaths totaling 1,721,377 infections and 26,479 dead Floridians — fourth most of any state.
New York ranks fourth in cases, adding 10,793 for a total of 1,410,656 and reported 138 new deaths as it leads the nation with 43,692 fatalities.
Illinois reported 2,428 new cases for the fifth-highest total in the nation at 1,126,301 and 40 new deaths for a total of 19,243.
