Solving COVID: May 26, 2021

America's vaccine milestone, Pfizer's combo drug, and more

A teen being vaccinated.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

1. Where things stand

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week confirmed that half of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That amounts to 129 million people; 160 million Americans have received at least one shot. "This is a major milestone in our country's vaccination efforts," said White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt. Data from CNN and Johns Hopkins University shows the average U.S. daily COVID-19 death toll is at its lowest point since March 31, 2020 — about 520 people are dying in America every day. Globally, it appears cases are on the decline, falling 14 percent last week, but remain high in countries including India, Argentina, and Nepal. And even as America rounds a corner, global vaccine distribution remains shockingly uneven. Just 0.3 percent of the world's vaccine doses have gone to low-income countries, a disparity that United Nations General Assembly President Volkan Bozkır said was "terrible, horrifying," and "unacceptable."

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