The Biden administration announced on Saturday that the US has set a new record for the number of COVID-19 shots administered in one day, with more than 4 million people vaccinated.
Cyrus Shahpar, White House COVID-19 Data Director, tweeted Saturday that more than 4.08 million doses had been administered in the past 24 hours. He noted that it was the first time the US used an average of more than 3 million doses per day in the past week.
“Wow a record day for reporting !! + 4.08 million doses reported for yesterday’s total. First day with 4 million or more. Also the first time averaged over 3 million a day in the past week, ”Shahpar tweeted. “Millions are coming together to accelerate our progress in managing the pandemic!”
Wow a record day for reporting !! + 4.08 million doses reported for yesterday’s total. First day with 4 million or more. Also the first time averaged more than 3 million a day during the past week. Millions are coming together to accelerate our progress in managing the pandemic!
– Cyrus Shahpar (@ cyrusshahpar46) April 3, 2021
Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the US has been administering 4,081,959 doses of vaccines since Friday, bringing the seven-day average of vaccinations to 3,072,527 per day.
In total, more than 161.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in the US to date, according to the agency’s vaccine tracker. More than 104 million people have received at least one dose and nearly 60 million have been fully vaccinated.
The data comes as the government tries to speed up vaccinations in an effort to return to some measure of normalcy.
The CDC issued guidelines on Friday saying that fully vaccinated people do not need to be tested before or after domestic travel. However, the agency still recommends wearing a mask and getting tested three to five days after international travel.
But despite encouraging news on the vaccine front, experts warn the American public must remain vigilant to avoid another nationwide rise in the number of cases.
The number of cases has risen steadily in recent weeks after decreasing after the winter holidays. In Michigan, in particular, the number of cases has increased in a two-week period, according to data from The New York Times.
According to data from the CDC, more than 30 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and more than 550,000 have died.