COVID-19 vaccinations up, infections down

Half of all American adults have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday. That’s almost 130 million people. Moderna and Pfizer’s two-shot regimens begin to offer at least some protection against COVID-19 after the first dose. More than 30 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against the virus. A Monmouth University poll conducted April 8-12 found 21 percent of U.S. adults say they do not plan to get the vaccine. Scientists have estimated the country could achieve herd immunity if 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.

What about the single-shot option? CDC advisers plan to meet on Friday to discuss whether to resume Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. Health officials paused the shot to investigate the link between the vaccine and unusual blood clots. Among the more than 7 million people who have received the shot, there have been six cases of blood clots in women between the ages of 18 and 48, and one death. Meanwhile, new case numbers are trending down in many states, including Michigan, which led the nation in daily infections for weeks.

Dig deeper: Read Emily Belz, Jamie Dean, Leah Hickman, and Charissa Koh’s report on getting back to normal after a year of pandemic life.