The U.S. is administering more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccines daily, according to the weekly average tracked by The New York Times.
This is a significant increase compared to the seven-day average a month ago; about 1.3 million vaccines were administered Feb. 4, according to the NYT.
Three more updates:
1. More than half of Europe is seeing an increase in new infections after a six-week decline, the World Health Organization said March 4. Last week, Europe saw new COVID-19 cases increase by 9 percent. The WHO cited rapid spread of more infectious variants as a contributing factor to this increase.
2. The Moderna vaccine may cause a delayed rash in some people, according to a small study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study examined 12 patients who developed a rash at the injection site eight or more days after receiving their first dose. The symptom, which typically resolved within about five days, "is a nuisance, but it is not dangerous," lead author Kimberly Blumenthal, MD, co-director of the clinical epidemiology program at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital, told Bloomberg.
3. California will channel 40 percent of vaccine doses to low income communities, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration said March 3, according to The New York Times. The strategy aims to reduce the number of counties at high-risk and make the vaccine rollout more equitable, officials said, adding that the state may ease restrictions in certain counties once 400,000 more doses are given in the target communities.Snapshot of COVID-19 in U.S.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in U.S.
Cases: 28,761,027
Deaths: 518,459
Americans receiving at least one vaccine dose: 52,855,579
Counts reflect March 3 and March 4 data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University and the CDC.