U.S. Vaccine Doses Head for 3 Million a Day as Supply Loosens

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is on pace to soon administer 3 million doses a day of Covid-19 vaccine, as the supply increases and states widen eligibility.

After stalling at about 2.5 million doses a day, the rate of shots administered in the U.S. has started to again climb. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the U.S. reported a total of more than 10 million shots in arms -- a record three-day stretch that helped push up the average rate, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

On Monday, the U.S. reported 2.4 million doses administered. Mondays are typically slower days for vaccine reporting in the U.S., with the previous record on a Monday about 2 million doses.

Doses are counted when they’re reported, not when they’re administered. With Monday’s total, the current 7-day average of doses administered is 2.76 million a day.

Many states have opened up eligibility to more of their population, aiming to use up doses as soon as they become available. On Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would allow anyone 30 or older to get a vaccine starting Tuesday, and anyone 16 and older starting April 6.

More shots are being shipped as well. Last week, the U.S. government said that it would make available 27 million doses for shipment in its weekly allotment, the biggest weekly total since inoculations began in December.

At the same time, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky on Monday warned of a fourth wave of the virus. Walensky said that Covid-19 cases were rising in places even with good vaccine penetration. Hospitalizations have started to tick upward as well.

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