The United States will see a substantial increase in the number of Covid-19 vaccines shipped and ready for administration in the coming weeks. Pfizer and Moderna executives told Congress on Tuesday that the drug makers are preparing to nearly double their current output. And on Wednesday, Food and Drug Administration staff approved the Johnson & Johnson one-time vaccine, paving the way for an emergency use permit starting this week. A J&J director said once the drug is approved, the company would be ready to ship more than 20 million doses by the end of March.
The US records at least 71,500 new Covid-19 cases and at least 2,030 virus-related deaths every day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC based on data from Johns Hopkins University.
The following data was collected by Johns Hopkins University:
- Worldwide cases: more than 112.2 million
- Worldwide deaths: At least 2.48 million
- US cases: more than 28.26 million
- Deaths in the US: at least 502,681