How Much Of Oakland County Population Is Vaccinated?

HUNTINGTON WOODS-BERKLEY, MI — The pace of coronavirus vaccinations has slowed somewhat in the United States., but the country continues to administer more than 2.5 million doses daily. Oakland County is above the national average for percentage of adults who are fully vaccinated.

The United States recently hit two important coronavirus vaccine milestones as the number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations steadily declined for two weeks.

More than half of U.S. adults have received at least one vaccine dose and more than eight out of 10 residents 65 and older have been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 38 percent of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

“Each day, more and more Americans are rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated, and likely contributing to these very positive trends,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House news briefing Tuesday.

As of April 28, 39 percent of Michigan residents 18 and older have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The state ranks 26th nationwide by that metric.

In Oakland County, about 42 percent of people 18 and older and 71 percent of people 65 and older have been fully vaccinated as of April 28, according to CDC data.

The average number of doses administered per day in the United States has declined from a seven-day average of 3.23 million doses on April 11 to 2.54 million on April 22.

The CDC recently updated its guidance that fully vaccinated people don’t have to wear masks outdoors unless they are in very crowded areas like stadiums.

“If you are fully vaccinated and want to attend a small outdoor gathering with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, or dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households, the science shows... you can do so safely unmasked,” Walensky said.

The country had a seven-day average of 54,400 coronavirus cases as of April 26, which is a 21 percent decline from the previous week, according to the CDC. The average number of daily cases has steadily been moving down since mid-April, after a slight uptick that lasted about a month.

Locally, coronavirus cases are falling; 3,976 coronavirus cases were reported in Oakland County between April 21 and 27; there were 5,803 between April 14 and 20, according to data collected by The New York Times.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are down 9 percent from the previous seven-day period and deaths are down about 6 percent, Walensky said.

Hot spots like Michigan are seeing improvement in case counts too, according to the New York Times coronavirus tracker.

U.S. vaccine pivot

The United States is beginning to pivot its vaccine strategy, now that many of the vaccine-eager have already received at least one dose. The mission is now to convince as many other people as possible to get vaccinated.

“We knew that we were going to, first, vaccinate everybody who was rolling up their sleeves immediately and wanting it,” Walensky said. “And then we were going to have to do the work of meeting people where they are, understanding their reasons for not wanting to get vaccinated, and really explaining: ‘Is it about the science? Is it that you felt that the science was too fast?'

More people are likely to come around to getting a vaccine soon, White House senior coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt said during the Tuesday briefing.

“Some people decide quickly; some people take a little bit more time to decide,” Slavitt said. “I think it’s important that we respect everybody’s decision-making process.”

Many states are making it easier to get a vaccine by offering walk-in appointments. The CDC reports that more than 301 million vaccine doses have been delivered and about 234 million were administered as of Wednesday.

Editor's note: This post was automatically generated using data from the CDC and the New York Times. Please report any errors or other feedback to [email protected].