By Kristen Jordan Shamus
Despite the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines (click here) and easy access, the U.S. has fallen behind 40 other countries in getting its people fully vaccinated in a pandemic that is still raging.
About 55% of Americans have gotten at least two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center. That compares with top-ranked Malta, which has fully vaccinated 83% of its population. Our Canadian neighbors have a 70% vaccination rate. China is at 72%. The UK is at 66%.
And though the pace of vaccinations rose slightly in August, it has trended downward the last two weeks.
At this rate, "by the end of September, the U.S. will have the lowest vaccination level of all prosperous democracies, With the largest supply & the biggest head start," Andy Slavitt, who stepped down in June as senior adviser to the White House pandemic response team, said in a tweet last week....
