The biggest vaccination campaign in history is underway. More than 944 million doses have been administered across 170 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 15.9 million doses a day.
In the U.S., 216 million doses have been given so far. In the last week, an average of 3.02 million doses per day were administered.
Enough doses have now been administered to fully vaccinate 6.2% of the global population—but the distribution has been lopsided. Countries with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated about 25 times faster than those with the lowest.
While the best vaccines are thought to be 95% effective, it takes a coordinated campaign to stop a pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious-disease official in the U.S., has said that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the U.S. population would enable a return to normalcy.
On a global scale, that’s a daunting level of vaccination. At the current pace of 15.9 million a day, it would take years to achieve a significant level of global immunity. The rate, however, is steadily increasing, and new vaccines by additional manufacturers are coming to market.
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Israel was first to show that vaccinations were having a nationwide effect. The country has led the world in vaccinations, and by February more than 84% of people ages 70 and older had received two doses. Severe covid cases and deaths declined rapidly. A separate analysis in the U.K. showed similar results.
It’s now a life-and-death contest between vaccine and virus. New strains threaten renewed outbreaks. In the early stages of a campaign, the effect of vaccinations are often outweighed by other factors of transmissibility: virus mutations, seasonality, effectiveness of mask use and social distancing. In time, higher vaccination rates should limit the Covid-19 burden around the world.
Since the start of the global vaccination campaign, countries have experienced unequal access to vaccines and varying degrees of efficiency in getting shots into people’s arms. Before March, few African nations had received a single shipment of shots. In the U.S., 65.0 doses have been administered for every 100 people.
Delivering billions of vaccines to stop the spread of Covid-19 worldwide will be one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken.
The U.S. leads the world in total vaccines administered, and more supply is on the way. Drugmakers have promised to deliver enough shots to fully vaccinate more than 300 million people by the end of June. That’s more than enough for every adult, and clinical studies in children are underway.
Distribution in the U.S. is directed by the federal government. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, as well as Moderna’s shot both require two doses taken several weeks apart. J&J’s inoculation requires just a single dose.
The introduction of J&J’s one-shot option in March is speeding up deliveries and making it easier to vaccinate hard-to-reach populations. So far, 134 million Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine—52.1% of the adult population. At least 87.6 million people have completed a vaccination regimen.
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The U.S. hasn’t yet achieved vaccination rates high enough to quell the outbreaks. New Covid variants have driven a surge in cases in some states—especially Michigan. Even states with relatively high vaccine coverage, including Minnesota and Pennsylvania, have seen their numbers rise.
Younger, unvaccinated populations are increasingly viewed as key to heading off a potential fourth wave. New vaccine supplies have allowed states to open up eligibility to wide swaths of residents. President Joe Biden has said that by April 19 all adults will be eligible to get vaccinated. Until recently, eligibility has mostly been based on age, occupation, and underlying medical conditions.
It takes about two weeks after a final vaccine dose for immunity to fully develop. After that, a person can safely meet indoors with other vaccinated people without wearing masks, according to CDC guidance issued in March. Grandparents can spend time with their grandchildren again.
Even for people fully vaccinated, some restrictions remain in place while the virus still circulates across the country. The CDC advises against travel and recommends wearing masks and social distancing while in public.
After focusing first on hospitals and other institutional health-care settings, states have expanded the number of places that offer the shots. Mass vaccination centers were created from sport stadiums, theme parks, convention halls and race tracks. Millions of doses are now being shipped directly to local pharmacies.
The vaccines available today are only approved for people over the age of 16. Pfizer and BioNTech have asked the FDA to expand authorization to ages 12 and older. Tests for dosing, safety, and effectiveness are underway in younger ages, with results expected later this year.
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Bloomberg is tracking the development of nine of the globe’s most promising vaccines. A total of seven vaccines are now available for public use, in limited quantities, in at least 170 countries.
Nations have poured billions of dollars into developing new vaccine technologies, testing them in thousands of volunteers, scaling up manufacturing, and then bringing them to market in record time.
None of these shots, on its own, is enough to inoculate a global population of some 7.8 billion people. But together they represent humanity’s best chance of ending a scourge that has claimed more than 2.6 million lives and triggered global economic calamity.
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Correction (April 18): Stopped tracking Quebec second doses due to a methodological problem, which will lower the total number of fully vaccinated Canadians.
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