US achieves full vaccinations for half of adults

CDC data showed the U.S. reached a huge milestone with its COVID-19 vaccination effort on Tuesday, with half of the nation’s adults being considered fully vaccinated.

Fifty percent, or more than 129 million, of Americans 18 and older are considered fully vaccinated.

A person is considered fully vaccinated in the U.S. two weeks after receiving their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after receiving the only dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

What’s next: President Biden’s next target is to ensure that 70 percent of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine by the Fourth of July. Tuesday’s data shows 61.6 percent of adults, amounting to more than 158 million, have received at least one dose.

The U.S. is also nearing half of its total population having received at least one dose of the vaccine, as Tuesday’s data shows 49.5 percent of Americans have reached this point.

But vaccinations have slowed in recent weeks after the most eager recipients received their vaccines, prompting states to institute incentives, including lotteries, to encourage unvaccinated people to get their shots.