One Year of Covid-19 Vaccinations

December marks the 1-year anniversary of COVID-19 vaccinations being recommended and administered in the United States. On December 11, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the first Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a vaccine to help prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus in people age 16 years and older. Following this authorization, on December 12, 2020 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for persons age 16 years and older in the United States.

Since that time, more than 485 million doses have been administered across the United States to more than 239 million people (over 72% of the U.S. population). Currently, 202 million people are fully vaccinated, including 87% of people ages 65 years and older, 70% ages 12 years and older, and 64% ages 5 years and older. Additionally, more than 53 million adults have received a booster dose. These statistics were achieved through the hard work of tens of thousands of vaccination providers, support staff, and volunteers working every day across the country and in every community.