A year after the first coronavirus vaccines became available in the United States, and after months of politicized fights over vaccine mandates, the country’s campaign to vaccinate its population seems to have hit a wall, with very few people showing up for first shots.
An average of 76,000 Americans a day received their first dose this week, the lowest number since December 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of overall doses per day, including first doses, second doses and boosters, is also at its lowest since around then. That is a far cry from the peak of the vaccination campaign in April 2021, when an average of 1.8 million Americans a day were getting their first shots.
It seems that the people who were willing to get vaccinated have already gotten their shots, while those who are vaccine-hesitant or vaccine-resistant now have fewer incentives to change their minds. The numbers of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are falling, and many states are pulling back on mask mandates.
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