More than 50 percent of total US population has received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose

More than half of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, marking another milestone in the effort to defeat the coronavirus.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated Friday showed that 50.1 percent of the population had at least one shot and that 40.2 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. 

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second of two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot. 

The figure is at least the second milestone to be reached this week after the CDC announced that 50 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

President Biden has set out a goal of administering at least one vaccine dose to 70 percent of adults by July 4. Currently, just over 62 percent of adults have gotten at least one jab.

The progress with the broader population shows that more minors are getting vaccinated.

The Pfizer and Moderna shots, which were given emergency use authorization in December, are approved for people above the ages of 16 and 18, respectively. But Pfizer this month got the green light to inoculate those as young as 12, and Moderna this month released the results of its COVID-19 vaccine trials showing its shot had a 96 percent effective rate for those aged 12 to 17. 

However, warning signs have emerged about lingering vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. A poll released Thursday showed that the percentage of unvaccinated people who say they are eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible dropped 5 percent from last month.