US vaccinates 4 million people in one day

The Biden administration announced Saturday that the U.S. set a new record for the number of COVID-19 shots administered in one day, inoculating over 4 million people. 

Cyrus Shahpar, White House COVID-19 Data Director, tweeted Saturday that over 4.08 million doses had been administered in the last 24 hours. He noted that it was the first time the U.S. was averaging over 3 million doses per day over the past week.

“Wow a record reporting day!! +4.08M doses reported administered over the total yesterday. First day w/ 4M or more. Also first time averaging more than 3M per day over the past week,” Shahpar tweeted. “Millions coming together to accelerate our progress toward controlling the pandemic!”

Wow a record reporting day!! +4.08M doses reported administered over the total yesterday. First day w/ 4M or more. Also first time averaging more than 3M per day over the past week. Millions coming together to accelerate our progress toward controlling the pandemic!

— Cyrus Shahpar (@cyrusshahpar46) April 3, 2021

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the U.S. administered 4,081,959 vaccine doses since Friday, bringing the seven-day average of vaccinations to 3,072,527 per day.

In total, over 161.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. thus far, according to the agency’s vaccine tracker. Over 104 million people have received at least one dose, and nearly 60 million have been fully vaccinated.

The data comes as the government seeks to accelerate vaccinations in a push to return to a degree of normalcy. 

The CDC on Friday issued guidance stating that fully vaccinated people do not have to be tested before or after domestic travel. However, the agency still advises wearing a mask and getting tested three-to-five days after international travel.

But despite encouraging news on the vaccine front, experts are warning that the American public must remain vigilant to avoid another nationwide surge in cases.

Cases have steadily risen over the past couple of weeks after decreasing following the winter holidays. Michigan in particular has seen a rise in cases over a two-week period, according to data from The New York Times. 

Over 30 million Americans have been infected with coronavirus since the pandemic began, according to CDC data and more than 550,000 have died.