Over 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated, COVID cases spike

More than 200 million Americans, or 60 percent of the population, have been vaccinated against coronavirus. Despite achieving this milestone, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are spiking.

The daily average of new cases has increased to almost 121,311 a day, compared to 95,000 on November 22, according to the New York Times. Hospitalizations are also up 25 percent from last month. The increases are mostly due to the delta variant, but omicron is predicted to spread further.

Providers are administering 1.92 million doses per day on average. Nearly 12.5 million shots were administered last week, according to White House Officials. Nearly 48 million people have received a booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Demand for the vaccine is also high amid the emergence of omicron. Drugstores are experiencing shortages, as more Americans seek to get their booster to combat the omicron variant. “There’s crazy increased demand on pharmacies right now,” said a pharmacist.

The virus has been found to be spreading among those who are not yet vaccinated. Out of the patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, 90 percent of them are unvaccinated, according to Parkview Health officials. 

“The vast majority of patients in our hospitals are unvaccinated. That’s especially true of critical care patients,” said Andy Mueller, CEO of MainHealth. “It requires a tremendous amount of our resources to provide care.”

Preliminary laboratory studies show that three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine can neutralize the omicron variant and provide 25 times more protection, announced Pfizer on Wednesday. Two doses also provide protection against severe disease.

“The virus will find you,'' said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights at Georgetown University. "It is searching for hosts that are not immune.”