Millions of Americans have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and more are getting vaccinated every day. But that doesn't mean the US can let its guard down, health officials say.
More than 100 million people in the United States have received at least one dose, according to a tweet from Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House's Covid-19 data director. Almost 4 million doses have been administered since Thursday, marking a record-high seven-day average of nearly 3 million doses per day, Shahpar said.
Almost 40% of American adults have received at least one dose, with more than 1 in 5 adults fully vaccinated, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in Friday's White House Covid-19 briefing.
But she still has her concerns, she said.
"We are at 64,000 new Covid cases today and our numbers continue to increase," Walensky said. "I still continue to worry that with 80% of the population unvaccinated, that we have a lot of work to do to control this pandemic."
Walensky urged Americans to continue using the "mitigation strategies we know work," like wearing masks and keeping a social distance.
"Getting more people vaccinated as quickly as possible and taking prevention measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 is the path out of this pandemic and back to our everyday activities," Walensky said.
White House coronavirus coordinator Jeffrey Zients echoed that sentiment, telling reporters, "We are working to put this pandemic behind us as fast as we can, but we're not there yet. So we need everyone to do their part."
In a news conference Friday, Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon said cases were rising in the state and warned residents to stay vigilant.
"I know we're all fed up with a pandemic, physical distancing and mask wearing, but we are in the last few miles of the marathon," Brown said. "We have come so far, run so hard and we are close to the finish line. Don't let the vaccines and the sunny spring weather give us a false sense that we're in the clear, because we're not."