With the U.S. vaccination effort picking up speed, new coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose 1.5% in the week ended Sunday, the slowest increase since the pandemic began almost a year ago.
The U.S. reported 420,285 infections for the week, after recording 471,198 cases in the prior seven days, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The percentage gain was the smallest since Bloomberg began tracking cases in January 2020.
In the past week, an average of 2.16 million vaccine doses per day were administered in the U.S., with the total number of shots reaching 90.4 million, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
At the same time, many state and local governments are easing mitigation measures as warmer weather and family holidays approach and virus variants gain strength. That’s spurring some concern that the virus could gain new footholds ahead.
It’s no time to relax, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser on the pandemic, said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” U.S. cases remain “very high” and a rush to lift virus-related restrictions risks triggering another surge, he said..
