By the most important measures, America’s pandemic is trending in the right direction: New cases of coronavirus have been declining, as have deaths (in fact, Massachusetts, yesterday, recorded 0 deaths due to COVID). And the number of people in the country vaccinated against the virus goes up by millions every week. Add to that good news: The CDC’s endorsement today of Pfizer’s vaccine for use for 12 to 15-year olds. Adolescents are eligible for their shots starting tomorrow.
As of May 12, 154 million Americans—58.7% of adults, 84% of seniors, and 46.4% of the total population—had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A week ago that number was 148.6 million. The fully-vaccinated population now stands at 117.6 million Americans, or 45.1% of adults and 35.4% of the total population.
In total, the nation has administered 264.7 million vaccines, all of which have been Pfizer and Modern’s mRNA vaccines aside from 9.3 million Johnson & Johnson shots.
In terms of progress with the vaccine rollout across the states, Vermont is the new leader in terms of the percent of residents vaccinated, at 62.8% of the population. All the states in New England, as well as Hawaii, have reached more than 60% of residents with at least one dose. In some states, the rates are much lower; Mississippi ranks at the bottom with 32.3% of its population vaccinated, up from 31.6% last week. Also below 35%: Louisiana and Alabama.
Share of the population that has received at least once shot
| State or territory | Share vaccinated |
| Alaska | 43.1% |
| Alabama | 33.9% |
| Arkansas | 37.0% |
| American Samoa | 39.7% |
| Arizona | 42.9% |
| California | 52.0% |
| Colorado | 49.3% |
| Connecticut | 57.9% |
| District of Columbia | 52.4% |
| Delaware | 49.7% |
| Florida | 44.7% |
| Georgia | 36.9% |
| Guam | 48.7% |
| Hawaii | 59.3% |
| Iowa | 45.9% |
| Idaho | 35.5% |
| Illinois | 49.5% |
| Indiana | 38.4% |
| Kansas | 44.1% |
| Kentucky | 42.9% |
| Louisiana | 33.7% |
| Massachusetts | 61.1% |
| Maryland | 51.9% |
| Maine | 57.9% |
| Michigan | 44.9% |
| Minnesota | 49.9% |
| Missouri | 39.3% |
| Mississippi | 32.3% |
| Montana | 42.3% |
| North Carolina | 40.7% |
| North Dakota | 40.2% |
| Nebraska | 45.3% |
| New Hampshire | 57.9% |
| New Jersey | 54.9% |
| New Mexico | 53.4% |
| Nevada | 41.8% |
| New York | 50.7% |
| Ohio | 42.3% |
| Oklahoma | 39.6% |
| Oregon | 49.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 53.3% |
| Puerto Rico | 43.6% |
| Rhode Island | 55.6% |
| South Carolina | 38.2% |
| South Dakota | 45.8% |
| Tennessee | 36.2% |
| Texas | 40.1% |
| Utah | 41.8% |
| Virginia | 50.3% |
| Vermont | 62.8% |
| Washington | 50.5% |
| Wisconsin | 47.5% |
| West Virginia | 37.2% |
| Wyoming | 35.0% |
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