Half of U.S. adults have received at least one COVID vaccination, CDC says
Almost 130 million people 18 or older, or about 50.4% of the total U.S. adult population, have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Sunday night, the CDC said a total of 84 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated. So far, more than 3 million around the world have died due to COVID-19, per a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
There's no end in sight, however, for America's fight against the coronavirus. Cases and hospitalizations are on the rise again as a key vaccine is still on hold. In Los Angeles, residents lined up at a super site for a vaccine.
"It's important to get vaccinated to like simmer down the virus," one resident told CBS News.
Adding to the anxiety, a smaller supply the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause following six rare cases of blood clots.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the vaccine could return to arms after the CDC reviews it on Friday.
"One of the possibilities would be to bring them back, but to do it with some form of restriction or some form of warning," Fauci told moderator Margaret Brennan.
With COVID variants spreading, new infections are averaging about 70,000 a day — about the same as the 2020 summer peak. Over the past week, 34 states reported hikes in COVID hospitalizations, according to Johns Hopkins. Michigan, Pennsylvania, Rhode island and New Jersey are seeing the worst of it.
More deaths have been reported in the U.S. than in any other country. Globally, the number of deaths since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, over a year ago is more than the population of Chicago and equivalent to Dallas and Philadelphia, combined. It is roughly equal to Kyiv, Ukraine's population, and metropolitan Lisbon, according to The Associated Press.
With more people traveling and states relaxing restrictions, America increasingly appears to be fighting the virus with vaccines.
Nurse practitioner Tarik Khan takes leftover doses to Philadelphia's homebound, trying to keep any shots from going to waste.
"Putting the extra doses with the people who needed them really was the golden ticket," he said.
Starting on Monday, every adult in the U.S. will become eligible for the COVID vaccine.
Peter Martinez contributed to this report.