The worldwide vaccination rate continues to rise over the last month while the vaccination rate in the United States rebounded slightly from falling rates. The more deadly and infectious delta variant spreads across the country fueled by large numbers of people who remain unvaccinated despite excess vaccine supplies.

To add to our concerns Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci warned today that a booster shot will be required for everyone “sooner or later” to ensure that the durability of protection from COVID-19 vaccines continues.  Tomorrow, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to authorize a third dose of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines among certain immunocompromised patients.

World Statistics

More than 4.56 billion doses have been administered across 183 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 39.1 million doses a day.

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Enough doses have now been administered to fully vaccinate 29.7% of the global population. As of July 9, 21.7% of the global population had been fully vaccinated. Progress for sure but a long way from reaching herd immunity. To see where your country stands, visit this site and scroll over the relevant country.

Here are the vaccination statistics for the U.S. as reported by the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) as of 8:00pm on August 12, 2021.

United States Statistics

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Only 50.4% of the total U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. The percentage of those currently eligible (over age 18) for a vaccine is 61.3%. To see where your state or territory stands, visit this site and scroll over the relevant state or territory.

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In the last week, an average of 729,009 doses per day were administered. That is slightly better than the 600,000 weekly doses being administered as of July 9, 2021. The U.S. has excess supplies of vaccine and is reportedly sharing some of its supply with other countries.

Once envied for its swift rollout, the U.S. has since been overtaken by dozens of countries. There are still wide gaps between the most and least vaccinated counties in the U.S., leaving many communities vulnerable to continued outbreaks.

Vaccine Protection Against Infection Appears To Wane Over Time

A non-peer-reviewed study by the Mayo Clinic that was made public in the last few days suggests that compared to its original effectiveness, Pfizer’s shot may now be significantly less effective than Moderna’s against being infected with SARS-CoV-2 (42% efficacy for Pfizer/BioNTech versus 76% for Moderna). That is concerning news personally since I was fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine at the end of February.

The good news is that the vaccines still appear to be highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death.

How To find A Place To Get Vaccinated

There are several ways you can look for vaccination providers near you in the United States.

  • Visit Vaccines.gov to find vaccination providers near you. In some states, information may be limited while more U. S. vaccination providers and pharmacies are being added. Learn more about COVID-19 Vaccination Locations on Vaccines.gov.
  • Text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find vaccine locations near you in the United States.
  • Check your local pharmacy’s website to see if vaccination appointments are available. Find out which pharmacies are participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
  • Contact your state health department to find additional vaccination locations in the area.
  • Check your local news outlets. They may have information on how to get a vaccination appointment.

Final Thoughts

The biggest development seems to be emerging evidence for the need for booster shots. We will see what the FDA says tomorrow. It is expected to recommend boosters for people with compromised immune systems. If the Mayo Clinic study proves to be valid, I expect that periodic boosters will be recommended for everyone.

Those who are vaccinated aren’t off the hook by any means. We must continue to practice basic pandemic safety to protect ourselves and those around us. Major cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles are planning to limit activities like indoor dining, and gathering in large groups to those who are vaccinated. That may encourage more people to get vaccinated, but I hope it doesn’t make some be less vigilant about wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands.

I’m becoming less optimistic about our ability to travel internationally without dealing with quarantines and other onerous entry requirements. When it comes to Covid, it seems the only guarantees as far as the future are that unless stopped by affirmative actions, it will continue to spread, sicken and mutate into new strains.