First shots of Covid vaccination in US drop to record low

Washington, Oct 28 : The daily count of people receiving their first shots of a Covid-19 vaccine in the US has dropped to a record low since inoculation began in the country in December 2020, according to the latest data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC data on Wednesday revealed that the daily count of people getting the first dose has been decreasing since mid-August, reaching a record low of 25,336 on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The average number initiating vaccination each day is down 15 per cent from last week.

The slowdown comes as the ongoing wave of the pandemic is showing no signs of easing.

New daily Covid-19 cases in the US have fallen by nearly 60 per cent nationwide since a peak in mid-September triggered by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

But some northeastern states are starting to see new outbreaks, and the nation is still averaging nearly 70,000 daily cases and more than 1,000 deaths per day, according to the CDC data.

About 191 million people have been fully vaccinated in the US as of Wednesday, accounting for 57.5 per cent of the whole population.

About 14.4 million people have received booster shots.

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday recommended authorising the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11. They found that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for this younger population.

It is now up to the FDA and the CDC to make a final decision. If authorised, it would be the first Covid-19 vaccine for younger children.

Health experts said getting younger kids eligible for vaccines could impact the trajectory of the pandemic. However, to convince the vast unvaccinated population to take the first step remains key to ending the pandemic. �