Half of American adults fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Washington: United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time) informed that half of the country's adults are completely vaccinated against COVID-19.

Taking to Twitter, Biden said: "As of today, 50 per cent of American adults are fully vaccinated. That's a big deal, folks," Biden tweeted. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, vaccinating half of the adult Americans has marked significant progress since the vaccines were first authorized in December.

"This is a major milestone in our country's vaccination efforts," White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said at a press briefing on Tuesday (local time), nothing that one per cent of adults were fully vaccinated when the Biden administration came into office, reported The Hill.

It further reported that the achievement symbolises a step closer to President Biden's next goal of getting 70 per cent of adults to have at least one vaccine dose by the fourth of July. Currently, 61.6 per cent of American adults, or almost 159 million people, have reached this point.

These updated numbers mean that half of adults are cleared under CDC guidelines to not wear a mask in most indoor and outdoor settings. The agency still recommends those who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask indoors.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were first given emergency authorisation in December about a month before former President Trump left office. Early in the vaccination effort, certain groups of adults, such as health care workers and elderly people, were prioritised for vaccines.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was granted emergency authorisation in February.