70% of US adults are fully vaccinated, 80% partially: White House

The White House announced on Monday that 70 percent of adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and that 80 percent of adults have received at least their first shot.

Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, disclosed the statistics during a press briefing Monday morning, saying that the U.S. has “hit two important milestones.”

Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director, said in a tweet that more than 935,000 doses were administered in the past day, including 240,000 initial shots and 571,000 additional doses and boosters.

Monday just in: +935K doses reported administered including 240K newly vaccinated and 571K additional doses/boosters. Now 80% of all adults in the US with at least one dose.

— Cyrus Shahpar (@cyrusshahpar46) November 1, 2021

Zients also announced that by the end of Monday, roughly 20 million Americans will have received Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson booster dose. 

The coordinator said the U.S.’s booster program “is off to a very strong start and continues to accelerate.”

“80% of adults now have at least their first shot and 70% of adults are now fully vaccinated.”

— WH COVID Response Coordinator Jeff Zients on U.S. vaccinations pic.twitter.com/fDxWYA6IZm

— The Recount (@therecount) November 1, 2021

The U.S. reached the 80 percent partially vaccinated number less than a month after the White House announced that 75 percent of adults in the U.S. had received at least one shot.

The milestones come as COVID-19 cases and deaths are trending downward in the U.S., likely due in large part to the highly effective vaccines.

Health officials are now paying attention to vaccinating young children, especially after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Zients announced on Monday that the Biden administration’s vaccination effort for children ages 5 to 11 will be fully operational beginning Nov. 8, assuming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends the vaccine for children.

He also said the administration has purchased enough of the Pfizer vaccine to inoculate all 28 million eligible children. It is also working to send 15 million doses to thousands of facilities throughout the U.S.

Also at Monday’s press briefing, White House officials said the delay in the FDA’s review of the Moderna vaccine for children will not impact the Biden administration’s plans for the pediatric vaccine rollout.

That announcement came after Moderna announced on Sunday that the FDA’s review for emergency use authorization for its vaccine for children ages 12 to 17 was being delayed so the company could take a closer look at a possible rare heart risk.