More than half of California adults have now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, a promising milestone because the state is now vaccinating as many residents as possible.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 52.2% of Californians 18 and older are at least partially vaccinated.
That level of coverage is 11th among all states, shows federal figures, and is higher than the percentage of adults who received a dose in other heavily populated states – including Pennsylvania, 51.8%; New York, 51.3%; Texas, 45%; and Florida, 44.8%.
Nationwide, 48.3% of adult Americans received at least one shot.
In general, state health officials said Friday that 50% of Californians 16 years and older – all of whom are now eligible to discuss vaccinations – received at least one dose.
“This historic milestone is a wonderful sign that Californians understand that COVID-19 vaccinations are safe and effective and that our entire state is committed to gaining immunity,” he said. Tomás Aragón, a public health official and director of the California Department of Public Health, said. in a statement. “Vaccinations are our best tool to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will continue to ensure that every Californian who is old enough to get the vaccine has access to one.”
Government Gavin Newsom on Thursday looked to remove the obstacle, but said it was 50%, though promising, “not good enough.”
“We are making progress. We are going to defeat this disease. We are going to end this pandemic, “he said during a news conference. “There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to work.”
An important point on the state’s to-do list is to ensure that those who have been partially vaccinated for COVID-19 complete their vaccination program.
The two most widely administered vaccines nationwide and in California, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, each require two doses, several weeks apart.
As a result, while more than half of California adults received at least one dose, only 29.2% were fully vaccinated.
The percentage is the nationwide figure, 30.3%, and is 36th among states.
This is despite the fact that California has administered by far the most vaccine doses of any state.
To date, 24.2 million doses have been administered across the country. No other state has even reached 16 million, CDC data show.
Since California is by far also the most populous part of the country, it requires a steady dose of fuel to make a serious dive.
A third COVID-19 vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, involves only a single shot, but California – which acts on the recommendation of federal health agencies – has temporarily suspended use of the brand as officials investigate six serious blood clots nationwide.
California officials said they did not expect the shutdown to be a major barrier, at least in the short term.
But some unwelcome news on the J&J front – nationwide supply of the vaccine that has now been suspended, has also slowed down due to recent production issues – meaning California will have fewer doses to work with.
And, as the data shows, the state’s vaccination effort will undoubtedly accelerate by having a readily available and usable supply of the one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
However, Newsom said California expects increasing inventories of Pfizer and Moderna to help cover the difference.
“The challenge is the manufactured offering, and so the problem will resolve itself as more Moderna and more Pfizer find themselves in the state and in the United States,” Newsom said. “But that was fundamentally the limitation and was the challenge in the state of California.”
He also noted that the state’s direct federal grant, which is expected to be about 1.9 million doses next week, is not the only source of vaccination. Up to 1.5 million more doses are expected to be delivered to other vaccination sites directly supported by the federal government, such as qualified health clinics and pharmacies.
Los Angeles County, for example, will receive 361,750 doses directly next week, but according to dr. Paul Simon, chief scientific officer for the other streams, said the total supply coming into the region would be more than 600,000. the LA County Department of Public Health.
Simon said on Friday that more than 700 vaccination sites are available across the country, “a very strong network that we hope will be able to handle the increase in vaccine demand.”
This is now particularly important because all California residents 16 and older are eligible to be vaccinated from Thursday.
In LA County alone, there are about 3.5 million people in the newly fit age group of 16 to 49 who had to receive another dose, Simon said.
While it can be a challenge to catch up on an appointment, and residents need to be patient with possible delays, Simon said everyone should feel comfortable and be encouraged to roll up their sleeves if they have time for it.
“Many people may believe that they have so far been unharmed and that they are healthy, and even if they become infected, they cannot get sick,” he said during a briefing. “But vaccination is not only critical for your own protection, but also serves to protect others – your loved ones, friends, anyone you may interact with.”
Widespread vaccination represents the surest and fastest way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials and experts say.
But with new cases increasing nationwide, federal health officials remain concerned about the trajectory of the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, the country’s seven-day average daily incidence of new coronavirus was 69,577 – up 31% from a month ago, federal figures show.
“The increasing trends in cases, hospitalizations and deaths are very worrying and it threatens the progress we have already made,” said CDC director, dr. Rochelle Walensky, said during an information session on Friday.
One factor that has fueled the recent rise, she says, is ‘relaxed prevention efforts in states across the country, such as relaxed mask mandates or weakened restrictions on indoor restaurant seating’.
“Another reason for these increases is the constant proliferation of highly transmissible variants … which makes the race to stop the transmission even more challenging and threatens to overwhelm our healthcare system again in parts of this country,” she said.
California has also recently seen an increase in new coronavirus cases.
Over the past week, the state reported an average of 3,069 cases per day, an increase of 21.1% over two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times.
Nevertheless, CDC data show that California’s latest seven-day new rate – 52.7 per 100,000 people per day – is the fourth lowest among all states and significantly lower than the nationwide rate of 146.7.
By comparison, the highest percentages were recorded in Michigan, with 551.6 per 100,000 people; Rhode Island, 304.5; New Jersey, 287.2; Pennsylvania, 261.6; and Minnesota, 256.1.
Among larger states, the comparable rates over the same period were 204.9 in Florida and 73.3 in Texas.
While any increase in cases is worth monitoring, California’s other coronavirus statistics continue to show promising signs of progress.
Although it has fluctuated a bit recently, the number of coronavirus-positive Californians admitted to the hospital – Thursday 1,833 – has dropped to a level not seen since last spring.
Yet officials say residents should continue to take steps to keep themselves, their families and their neighbors safe until more people can be vaccinated.
“What worries me is that we are seeing very significant congestion in other parts of the country,” Simon said.
The coronavirus, he continues, “in no way respects borders; it travels person to person, and as people travel, there are more opportunities for the virus to spread to different jurisdictions. ”
“Although our numbers look pretty good at the moment, we really encourage our people to keep going for a few more months to do everything possible to prevent proliferation,” he said. to remove and avoid crowds remains the key.
As Newsom emphasized, “The disease does not decrease during the month or summer. This disease has not disappeared. ”
“Let’s not wait. “Let us not take off these masks,” he said. “We still have to work. The biggest mistake in this country that continues is people who just give up, do not need this face covering and just accept that the mission is being carried out in some way. It is not. This disease will roar again. ‘