Residents of West Virginia and South Dakota most likely received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC’s website tracks the number of vaccine doses distributed in each state, and the number of people who received the first dose of the two approved shots. The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine requires two doses, ideally 21 days apart, while the second dose of the Moderna vaccine should be given 28 days after the first dose.
The new figures give an indication of how the vaccination of vaccines is going and how likely residents in individual states are to get the chance. West Virginia vaccinated 2,178 people per 100,000 on Dec. 30 and was followed by South Dakota, where 2,089 people per 100,000 received the first dose.
Kansas is currently lagging behind all other states with only 418 initial vaccinations per 100,000 on December 30th.
Vaccinations in Ohio stood at 434 per 100,000 on New Year’s Eve, Mississippi at 472 per 100,000 and Georgia at 480 per 100,000.
New York and California, two of the states hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, had similar vaccination rates.
California’s initial vaccination rate was 745 per 100,000, while New York was slightly behind with 723 doses per 100,000. States with larger populations will obviously need more doses of the vaccine. The ultimate goal is for the number of vaccines to reach a critical mass.
The CDC reports that to date, 12,409,050 doses of the vaccine have been distributed nationwide, while 2,794,588 people received the initial vaccination on 30 December. These figures are for both the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
The US surpassed 20 million COVID-19 cases this week. According to CNN, there were also more than 125,000 patients with the disease in U.S. hospitals. California also set a new record for daily deaths on Wednesday when the state recorded 432 deaths.
Mass vaccination with both doses is considered the long-term solution to the pandemic that has plagued the country. There are now more than 364,000 U.S. deaths due to the disease.
“The goal is for everyone to be able to vaccinate easily against COVID-19 once large enough quantities are available,” the CDC said on its website.
“Once the vaccine is widely available, the plan is to have thousands of vaccine providers offering COVID-19 vaccines in doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies, hospitals and federally qualified health centers.”
The CDC also records vaccination rates in U.S. territories. As of December 31, the Northern Mariana Islands is leading all U.S. states and territories with 3,910 initial doses per 100,000 people. However, the islands have a population of just under 57,000 inhabitants.
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