While neighboring Canada faces a potential third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen declining daily active cases since late January. According to worldometers.info, there were 9.1 million active cases in the US on January 29. The latest recorded figure on April 5 was 6.87 million. Vaccine administration has been a major contributor to this decline, as the US reached President Joe Biden's target of 100 million doses administered well ahead of original projections. Read on for a closer look at the vaccine rollout in five states.
New Hampshire
As of April 6, New Hampshire led all states in the percentage of doses administered that it had received. The state had administered 796,674 of 843,385 doses for a rate of 94.6. Only five other states had doses administered/distributed percentages higher than 90. Moreover, 42 percent of all New Hampshire residents 18 years and older had received at least one shot, while 20 percent of the population had been fully vaccinated.
New York
New York was one of the states most affected by COVID-19 at the outset of the pandemic. New York City, in particular, had death rates 10 times higher than those in Los Angeles County as of May 2020. As of April 6, vaccines were available in the state to individuals 16 and older, and 10.6 million of 12.7 million doses available had been administered for a percentage of 83.6. The decision to expand vaccine access on April 6 boosted the number of New Yorkers eligible for the vaccine to almost 16 million. Those aged 16 and 17, however, are restricted to the Pfizer vaccine as others have yet to be authorized for use by individuals under 18.
Texas
Texas was the first state to completely reopen for business when Governor Greg Abbott lifted the mask mandate and enhanced business capacity to 100 percent on March 2. Unlike other MLB teams operating their ballparks under limited capacity, the Texas Rangers welcomed 40,000 people into Globe Life Field on April 5 for the team's home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Despite lifting restrictions, Texas has experienced a decline in daily cases. In fact, the Lone Star State established a six-month low in hospitalizations three weeks after reopening its economy. Regarding vaccines, as of April 6, Texas has administered 13.1 million of the 16.8 million doses it had received.
Alabama
Alabama is the only state with a percentage of distributed vaccines administered less than 65. The state had administered only 1.9 million of the 2.9 million doses it had received as of April 6. To increase this percentage, the CDC recently awarded $44 million to Alabama to help expand vaccine access among minorities.