All 50 states report rising vaccination rates as COVID

by miniming, Wednesday, August 04, 2021, 04:00 (987 days ago)

All 50 states report rising vaccination rates as COVID infections surge, data shows

It's a silver lining to the immeasurable grief that has accompanied the virus.

While states like Missouri end a second month enduring a surge in COVID-19 cases as the more contagious delta variant spreads, public health officials across the country are hearing the same story from an increasing number of people getting the vaccine: someone they know recently caught the virus and the experience was unsettling.

"We don't want to see more people getting sick as a driving force to get people vaccinated, but we know the case counts and more people in the hospital will play a role in that conversation," Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis county executive, told ABC News.

Missouri has seen an increase of nearly 560% in new cases and 205% virus-related hospitalizations since early June -- staggering increases which have been exacerbated by the low number of residents who are fully vaccinated, just 41%.

"We really need higher vaccination penetration in our communities to slow this down," Page said.

However, Missouri is one of the many states in the nation which has experienced a significant, newfound demand for COVID-19 vaccinations in the last several weeks. Vaccinations statewide increased by approximately 100% in the last two weeks of July.

And while the uptick in shots has been most notable in the states that have been recently hardest hit by the coronavirus, the entire country is experiencing a rising vaccination rate. pg

According to an ABC News analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data from the last three weeks, every state has reported an increase in its average number of first doses administered, with the national rate of Americans receiving their first dose up by more than 73%.

Similarly, in the last week alone, vaccination rates have increased by nearly 20% in young Americans, ages 12-17, and by more than 25% in adults.

And on Sunday, the White House reported more than 800,000 vaccine doses administered, including first and second doses, marking the fifth consecutive day with more than 700,000 doses were reported administered. The uptick pushed the national vaccination average to more than 637,000 doses administered each day -- up by more than 24% in the last two weeks.

Slowly but surely, officials have started to see their public urgings translate into shots in arms, data shows -- a sobering silver lining to the immeasurable grief that has accompanied the virus.