More Than 11.7 Billion Shots Given: Covid-19 Tracker

Over a year into the biggest vaccination campaign in history, more than 11.7 billion doses have been administered across 184 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 18.1 million doses a day.

In the US, 580 million doses have been given so far. During the last week, shots were administered at an average rate of 77,896 doses a day.

World Map of Vaccinations

More than 11.7 billion doses have been administered—150 shots for every 100 people worldwide

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The Legacy of Omicron

The Covid-19 vaccine has changed the course of the pandemic. In total, 150 doses have been given for every 100 people around the world. In countries that reached the highest levels of vaccination, death rates plummeted.

Amid this progress, the world was caught off guard when the omicron variant rose to prominence in late 2021. Omicron proved somewhat less severe than previous variants, but it spread much faster.

Millions of vaccinated people have gotten sick from the omicron strain, but the shots served their most important function—preventing severe illness. During the omicron wave, vaccination with a booster reduced the chance of hospitalization and death by more than 90%. Sudden spikes of cases from the fast-moving variant have pressured health systems, but the outlook for the average Covid patient has improved significantly.

‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

In early 2021, Israel was first to show that vaccines were bending the curve of Covid infections. The country led the world in early vaccinations, and cases declined rapidly. A similar pattern of vaccination and recovery was repeated across dozens of countries.

New, more transmissible variants caused renewed outbreaks, but in these subsequent waves, unvaccinated patients faced far higher risk of hospitalization and death. This disparity in outcomes led health officials to dub the current phase of Covid a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

Since the start of the global inoculation campaign, countries have experienced unequal access to vaccines and varying degrees of success in getting shots into people’s arms.

Watch: Inside the Biggest Vaccine Campaign in History

In the first two years after a pandemic was declared, a dozen new vaccines were developed and more than 10 billion doses were administered. The rollout was unprecedented in its speed and scope, but distribution has been lopsided. Countries with the highest incomes have been vaccinated 10 times faster than those with the lowest.

Delivering billions of additional doses to some of the world’s least-equipped nations remains one of the biggest challenges for global health.

When Will Life Return to Normal?

While the best vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths, it takes a coordinated campaign to stop a pandemic. Infectious-disease experts have said that vaccinating 70% to 85% of the population could enable a return to normalcy, with booster shots needed to keep the virus in check.

On a global scale, that’s a daunting level of vaccination. Currently, 73 places have given at least one dose to 75% of the population. At the current pace of vaccinations, the goal of halting the pandemic remains elusive. Some countries are now reassessing their pandemic-era policies—weighing the current risk of severe illness against fatigue with public health measures.

US Vaccinations: State by State

Once the envy of the world for its swift vaccine rollout, the US has since been overtaken by dozens of countries. Wide gaps opened up between the most and least vaccinated counties in the US, leaving many communities vulnerable to continued outbreaks. The country’s booster campaign lags behind most wealthy nations.

So far, 258 million Americans have received at least one dose of a vaccine—77.0% of the population. At least 220 million have completed a vaccination regimen and 101 million have received boosters.

The US has pledged to send 1.1 billion doses to other hard-hit regions of the world by the end of 2022.

Vaccines Across America

More than 580 million doses have been administered in the US—173 shots for every 100 people

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A new beginning

In the early months of vaccination, Americans flocked to mass-inoculation sites set up at sport stadiums, theme parks, convention halls and race tracks. The vaccination rates were similar across states and demographics, according to a Bloomberg analysis. That changed. Amid pandemic fatigue and fraying political discourse, vaccination rates split along political lines.

The US suffered some of the highest rates of severe illness among its peers—with tens of thousands of vaccine-preventable deaths. Still, as omicron cases subsided in February, even states with some of the most restrictive covid measures began to reassess their health rules. The uncoupling of cases and deaths during the winter omicron wave suggested a potential end to the emergency phase of pandemic.

Even with the decoupling, the flood of omicron cases killed thousands of people a day during the winter peak. US health officials are now focused on how to encourage vaccinations among people who’ve shown reluctance, and to provide boosters to those who haven’t gotten around to it. In some areas of the country with low rates of vaccination, the number of people signing up for shots has slowed to a trickle.

It takes about two weeks after a final vaccine dose for immunity to fully develop. The CDC recommends a booster five months after completing a regimen of Pfizer or Moderna and two months after a J&J vaccination.

The future of Covid-19 is uncertain. Scientists describe two paths it could take. Future variants could continue to moderate into a seasonal respiratory illness similar to the flu. Alternatively, a more deadly variant could emerge, perhaps combining the virulence of delta with the transmissibility of omicron.

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