The US finally seems to be getting a grip on the corona virus pandemic, with the country recording an all-year low for seven days in a row. According to the daily case count of John Hopkins University, the daily average of new cases has dropped to roughly 17,000.
It marks a major turning point in the fight against the corona virus, which has so far infected over 33 million people and claimed the lives of 549,000 others.
New York – once the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, recorded its lowest positivity rate since the onset of the pandemic.
“This is … another clear piece of evidence that New York City is coming back strong,” said New York Mayor De Blaiso. “Let’s drive Covid out of New York City once and for all.”
This welcomed development owes more to the vaccination rollout than other factors. So far, more than 50% of the US population has received at least one jab of the vaccine, and more than 40% have been fully vaccinated.
However, efforts to suppress new cases are still fraught with many difficulties. As the country races to achieve herd immunity with 75% of the population vaccinated, the government is still struggling to achieve even distribution of vaccines across the country. Vaccine hesitancy is still a thing in many places, and accessibility and logistics challenges are hampering the rollout in many others.
“We all have more work to do,” said Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, White House Covid-19 Response Team senior adviser in a recent interview. “We have to continue to ensure everyone who is a ‘yes’ does not face barriers to vaccination.”
Meanwhile, people are gearing up for holiday gatherings without any mandatory prevention regulations in place for the first time in a year. Most states that had mandatory facemask regulations in place have all lifted them, and most cities that were in lockdown have now lifted restrictions completely.
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