Thread by @prchovanec

The US reported +1,794 new coronavirus deaths yesterday, bringing the total to 535,563. The 7-day moving average fell to 1,805 deaths per day, its lowest level since December 2.

The US had +67,281 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total to nearly 29.6 million. The 7-day moving average declined to under 63,000 new cases per day, its lowest level since October 20.

17 US states had over 1,000 new cases each, of which 4 had over 5,000 each. New York led the pack with over 8,000 new cases, followed by Florida, Texas, and California with over 5,000 each.

The number of people hospitalized in the US due to COVID-19 declined to 42,541 yesterday, its lowest level since October 25.

The positive test rate in the US remains at 4.2%, which is close to the lowest level (4.0%) since the pandemic began.

The US administered 2.4 million vaccine shots yesterday, bringing the total to 85.0 million, or 25.6 doses per 100 people. The 7-day moving average rose to 2.08 million shots per day. 16.7% of Americans haver received at least one shot; 8.6% are now fully vaccinated.

Israel has administered 95 doses per 100 people. 54.2% of Israelis have received at least one shot; 40.4% are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The United Arab Emirate has administered 58 doses per 100 people. There is no breakdown of how many people have received one shot vs. two.

The UK has administered 34 doses per 100 people. 32.0% of its population have received at least one shot, but only 1.5% are fully vaccinated. Britain seems to be adopting a strategy of maximizing the number of people who have at least some protection first.

I wonder if a two-step strategy might make sense:
Step 1: Focus on fully vaccinating the most vulnerable people (elderly, medical, teachers, grocery store, etc)
Step 2: Maximize the number of less vulnerable people getting at least one shot, in order to reduce spread.

Thoughts?