1 million Americans receive vaccine as virus hospitalizations hit record high

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images.)

published 24 December 2020

More than one million Americans have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but the coronavirus fight remains dire as hospitalizations climb to their highest peak since the beginning of the pandemic.

By mid-week, more than 119,000 people were receiving in-patient treatment in the U.S., per The Washington Post. And while the start of immunizations has bolstered some spirits, the process has faced various challenges, with White House vaccine chief Moncef Slaoui saying Wednesday it likely won't be possible to hit the 20 million vaccination mark by the end of 2020. Dr. Anthony Fauci also revealed in an interview published Thursday that in order to achieve herd immunity, the vaccination rate may need to be as high as 90 percent. Currently, around 0.3 percent of the U.S. population has been vaccinated.

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Marianne is The Weekâ€™s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.