Over 1 million people in the United States have received a dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, 1,008,025 people had been vaccinated by Wednesday. Over 9.4 million doses have been distributed.
The Food and Drug Administration first issued an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 11. Pfizer began distributing the vaccine the following Monday. The FDA issued an EUA for the Moderna vaccine on Friday. That vaccine started being distributed earlier this week.
The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended in early December that healthcare workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities be immunized in the first phase of vaccine distribution. State governments have the freedom to make their own decisions on prioritizing vaccines, but all states have followed the ACIP’s recommendations in the first phase.
On Sunday, the ACIP recommended that certain essential workers and those age 75 and over be vaccinated next. A few states, such as Florida, are not following that recommendation, opting instead to vaccinate people age 65 and older and those with chronic conditions that can lead to severe COVID-19 illness.
