Vaccinations drop for first time since February

The pace of daily coronavirus vaccinations in the U.S. has slowed significantly for the first time since February, even as all U.S. adults are now eligible for the inoculations, The Washington Post reported.

Approximately 3 million Americans are receiving their vaccinations daily, marking an 11 percent decrease in the last week, according to the newspaper. 

The drop echoes the downturn in vaccinations when winter storms hit parts of the country in February, forcing some vaccination sites to close and delaying some transportation of the doses.

The new slowdown is also concentrated in certain areas in the U.S., according to the Post. The sharpest declines have been in some states with smaller populations, including Maine, Alaska and New Hampshire.

Some states in the south have also seen a drop-off. Average daily shots reportedly dipped over 30 percent in Georgia and South Carolina over the last week.   

Still, daily vaccinations are growing in several cities and states across the U.S., including Delaware, California, Hawaii, the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the Post noted.

President Biden on Wednesday announced that 200 million coronavirus shots would be delivered nationwide by the end of the day, a target he initially set to reach by the end of April.

Biden added 80 percent of people over the age of 65 will have received one shot by Thursday.

Some have forecasted that overcoming vaccine hesitancy and increasing the flexibility of the process will be the next steps in ensuring that it is easier for all U.S. residents to get their shots. 

Health officials said the pause in the U.S. of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine could explain some of the downturn in vaccinations, but not all of it, according to the Post, as health organizations were able to use more Pfizer and Moderna shots to make up for the shortfall.

Federal health officials last week recommended the pause in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine due to six cases of rare blood clots among people who had received the vaccine. However, more than 7 million people have received the vaccine.