⚠️This is a huge number that's 50% bigger than we've ever seen. it's possible there's some sort of data/methodological reason for this. We are investigating and will post a blog/more tweets if we find out something more.
In the meantime, <sportscenter voice> THAT'S A BIG ONE
There are some states here that are all having record days: Take a look at Cali, NY, Mississippi, North Carolina:
Whereas some states are essentially flat -- DE, WA
So, obviously, *something* is going on here. But it's still a very big report. Whether it's data lag or something else, it pushes the 7-day U.S. average (a far more important measure) up substantially.
We'll see if this is a trend or a blip.
Some possibilities:
-Timing of CDC data pull (they were later than usual today)
-FEMA/mass vacc centers bump (operational or data)
-State-specific backlog of data coming in all at once
-Something else....
Ideas/guesses welcome while we try and find out more.
And keep in mind, whatever is happening is happening *on top of* what's usually one of the biggest reporting days of the week.
☝️Regular reminder: These are counts of when vaccines are REPORTED, not when they happen.
Also, FWIW, it's not a J&J dump (at least not according to the vaccine breakdown CDC has up). That's only about +315k reported today.
WE HAVE AN ANSWER: Here's why today's number was so much bigger than usual (short answer: it's a one-time methodological thing)
Our methodology blog post also has (from CDC) what the number today *would* have been with a normal pull time. You can find it here (it's still a lot):
⚠️Data note: We made a chance to our NYC methodology that brings it in line with the rest of the U.S. The % of people vaccinated now reflects residents, not place of vaccination. The resulted in a change to our NYC %s.
⭐️Our U.S. 7-day average is now 2.01M doses/day, the first time above 2M. This appears to be driven by a combo of winter-storm make-up doses + increasing supply.
📊1.91M doses today; 7-day 2.01M
🇺🇸US: 80.5M doses total
If there's a significant pull-back after the storm make-up bump, this could slip back down. But between J&J doses going into arms this week + rising shipments of about 15M doses/week, that seems unlikely/short-lived.