Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People
COVID-19 Homepage
Your COVID-19 Community Level
Interpretive Summary for February 25, 2022
Your COVID-19 Community Level
CDC is updating the way it monitors COVID-19’s impact on our communities. Widespread availability of vaccines and testing, advances in treatments, and increasing levels of immunity in the population through vaccination or previous infection have moved the COVID-19 pandemic to a new phase. While we can’t prevent all cases of COVID-19, we can continue to limit the spread and protect those who are most at risk of severe illness.
Given this new phase of the pandemic, CDC is launching a new tool to monitor COVID-19 Community Levels. Each county’s COVID-19 Community Level is ranked as low, medium, or high (find your county’s level). The COVID-19 Community Level map where you can find your county’s level will be updated regularly with new data. Your community’s level is determined by a combination of:
- How many people with COVID-19 have been admitted into local hospitals in the last week
- How many local hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients
- How many new COVID-19 cases the county has had in the last week
CDC recommends certain prevention measures—such as wearing masks indoors—when COVID-19 Community Levels are high enough to strain the healthcare system and when needed to protect those at increased risk of severe illness. This allows people to take a break from masks and other measures when risk is low and reach for them again if things are getting worse. The community level metrics, which focus on the number of severe cases that require hospital care and use healthcare resources, and thus are a measure of more serious disease, provide a better picture of COVID-19’s impact on the health of individual people and communities. The COVID-19 Community Level metrics will help people and public health authorities decide which prevention measures to take.
Get vaccinated if you’re eligible (everyone 5 and older is eligible), wear a mask indoors in areas where the COVID-19 Community Level is high, increase ventilation in indoor spaces, and stay home when sick. If you aren’t up to date on your vaccinations, find a vaccine.
- COVID Data Tracker’s County View tab was updated to use different thresholds and colors for two metrics: “New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population (last 7 days)” and “% Staffed inpatient beds in-use by patients with confirmed COVID-19, last 7 days.”
- Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–January 2022
- Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–January 2022
- SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant Transmission Within Households — Four U.S. Jurisdictions, November 2021–February 2022
Reported Cases
As of February 23, 2022, the current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (75,208) decreased 37.7% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (120,761). A total of 78,595,529 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of February 23, 2022.
Currently two variants, Omicron and Delta, are classified as Variants of Concern (VOC) in the United States. CDC Nowcast projections* for the week ending February 19, 2022, estimate the combined national proportion of lineages designated as Omicron to be 100%. There are five lineages designated as Omicron: B.1.1.529, BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.3. COVID Data Tracker now shows the proportions of the B.1.1.529 lineage (includes BA.1 and BA.3), BA.1.1** lineage, and the BA.2 lineage. The predominant Omicron lineage in the United States is BA.1.1, which is descendent of the BA.1 lineage and is characterized by an additional substitution (R346K) in the spike protein. The national proportion of BA.1.1 is projected to be 75.6% (95% PI 71.1-79.7%). B.1.1.529 (BA.1 and BA.3) is projected to be 20.6% (95% PI 16.7-25.1%) and BA.2 is projected to be 3.8% (95% PI 3.0-4.8%). Delta is projected to continue to be 0.0% (95% PI 0.0-0.0%). Omicron is predicted to be 100% in all HHS regions.
78,595,529
Total Cases Reported
78,595,529
Total Cases Reported
75,208
Current 7-Day Average**
75,208
Current 7-Day Average**
120,761
Prior 7-Day Average
120,761
Prior 7-Day Average
-37.7%
Change in 7-Day Average since Prior Week
-37.7%
Change in 7-Day Average since Prior Week
*The median time from specimen collection to sequence data reporting is about 3 weeks. As a result, weighted estimates for the most recent few weeks may be unstable or unavailable. CDC’s Nowcast is a data projection tool that helps fill this gap by generating timely estimates of variant proportions for variants that are circulating in the United States. View Nowcast estimates on CDC’s COVID Data Tracker website on the Variant Proportions page.
**For national data, the proportion of BA.1.1 is shown separately. For regional data, the proportion of BA.1.1 is also aggregated with B.1.1.529.
***Historical cases are excluded from daily new cases and 7-day average calculations until they are incorporated into the dataset for the applicable date. Of 424,140 historical cases reported retroactively, 676 were reported in the current week and 137 were reported in the prior week.
Daily Trends in COVID-19 Cases in the United States Reported to CDC
7-Day moving average
Vaccinations
The U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program began December 14, 2020. As of February 23, 2022, 551.4 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. Overall, about 253.2 million people, or 76.3% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 215.1 million people, or 64.8% of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated.* About 93.4 million additional or booster doses have been reported in people who have been fully vaccinated; however, 49.9% of the total booster-eligible population has not yet received a booster dose. As of February 23, 2022, the 7-day average number of administered vaccine doses reported (by date of CDC report) to CDC per day was 425,810, a 17.6% decrease from the previous week.
CDC’s COVID Data Tracker Vaccination Demographic Trends tab shows vaccination trends by age group and by race/ethnicity. As of February 24, 2022, 95.0% of people ages 65 years or older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 88.7% are fully vaccinated. For people ages 5-11 years, only 25.4% are fully vaccinated. For people ages 5 years or older, 81.1% have received at least one dose of vaccine and 68.9% are fully vaccinated. Of the fully vaccinated population, people ages 75 years or older have the highest proportion of additional/booster doses (68.3%) while people ages 12-17 have the lowest proportion (20.8%).
As of February 24, 2022, of all race/ethnicity groups, the Asian non-Hispanic population has the highest proportion that is fully vaccinated (59.8%) and the Black non-Hispanic population has the lowest proportion that is fully vaccinated (40.6%). Of the fully vaccinated population, the Asian non-Hispanic population has the highest proportion of additional/booster doses (65.4%) while the Hispanic/Latino population has the lowest proportion (38.5%).
COVID Data Tracker’s COVID-19 Vaccination Equity tab shows vaccination trends by urban/rural status. As of February 23, 2022, 48.5% of people in rural counties are fully vaccinated, while the range of vaccination coverage in the 5 urban/metro counties ranged from 52.3% (micropolitan) to 66.0% (large central metro).
551,372,287
Vaccine Doses Administered
551,372,287
Vaccine Doses Administered
253,179,401
People who received at least one dose
253,179,401
People who received at least one dose
215,129,430
People who are fully vaccinated*
215,129,430
People who are fully vaccinated*
76.3%
Percentage of the U.S. population that has received at least one dose
76.3%
Percentage of the U.S. population that has received at least one dose
64.8%
Percentage of the U.S. population that has been fully vaccinated*
64.8%
Percentage of the U.S. population that has been fully vaccinated*
+0.2
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.2
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.2
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.2
Percentage point increase from last week
*Represents the number of people who have received the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series (such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines) or one dose of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
Daily Change in the Total Number of Administered COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Reported to CDC by the Date of CDC Report, United States
7-Day moving average
Hospitalizations
New Hospital Admissions
The current 7-day daily average for February 16–February 22, 2022, is 6,060. This is a 29.9% decrease from the prior 7-day average (8,650) from February 9–February 15, 2022.
4,506,920
Total New Admissions
4,506,920
Total New Admissions
6,060
Current 7-Day Average
6,060
Current 7-Day Average
8,650
Prior 7-Day Average
8,650
Prior 7-Day Average
-29.9%
Change in 7-Day Average
-29.9%
Change in 7-Day Average
The start of consistent reporting of hospital admissions data was August 1, 2020.
Daily Trends in Number of New COVID-19 Hospital Admissions in the United States
New admissions are pulled from a 10 am EST snapshot of the HHS Unified Hospital Timeseries Dataset. Due to potential reporting delays, data from the most recent 7 days, as noted in the figure above with the grey bar, should be interpreted with caution. Small shifts in historic data may also occur due to changes in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider of Services file, which is used to identify the cohort of included hospitals.
Recent Trends in Hospitalizations in Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native People
CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) shows that since the start of the pandemic, people from racial and ethnic minority groups have been at increased risk for COVID-19-associated hospitalizations compared to non-Hispanic White persons.* For the week ending February 5, 2022, the rate of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native people was 24.1 per 100,000 people. While hospitalization rates have decreased since their peak of 39.4 per 100,000 people for the week ending January 8, 2022, this weekly hospitalization rate is the highest among all racial and ethnic minority groups.
*It is important to note that these increases might be driven by a limited number of COVID-NET sites and might not be nationally representative.
Trends in Hospitalizations in Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native People
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) is an additional source for hospitalization data collected through a network of more than 250 acute-care hospitals in 14 states (representing ~10% of the U.S. population). Detailed data on patient demographics, including race/ethnicity, underlying medical conditions, medical interventions, and clinical outcomes, are collected with a standardized case reporting form.
Deaths
The current 7-day moving average of new deaths (1,674) has decreased 18.8% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (2,063). As of February 23, 2022, a total of 939,654 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the United States.
939,654
Total Deaths Reported
939,654
Total Deaths Reported
1,674
Current 7-Day Average*
1,674
Current 7-Day Average*
2,063
Prior 7-Day Average
2,063
Prior 7-Day Average
-18.8%
Change in 7-Day Average Since Prior Week
-18.8%
Change in 7-Day Average Since Prior Week
*Historical deaths are excluded from the daily new deaths and 7-day average calculations until they are incorporated into the dataset by their applicable date. Of 20,882 historical deaths reported retroactively, none were reported in the current week; and 362 were reported in the prior week.
Daily Trends in Number of COVID-19 Deaths in the United States Reported to CDC
7-Day moving average
More Death DataTesting
The percentage of COVID-19 NAATs (nucleic acid amplification tests)* that are positive (percent positivity) is decreasing in comparison to the previous week. The 7-day average of percent positivity from NAATs is now 5.4%. The 7-day average number of tests reported for February 11-17, 2022, was 1,180,863, down 7.7% from 1,279,328 for the prior 7 days.
813,578,612
Total Tests Reported
813,578,612
Total Tests Reported
1,180,863
7-Day Average Tests Reported
1,180,863
7-Day Average Tests Reported
5.4%
7-Day Average % Positivity
5.4%
7-Day Average % Positivity
8.3%
Previous 7-Day Average % Positivity
8.3%
Previous 7-Day Average % Positivity
-2.98
Percentage point change in 7-Day Average % Positivity since Prior Week
-2.98
Percentage point change in 7-Day Average % Positivity since Prior Week
*Test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
COVID-19 NAAT Laboratory Test 7-day Percent Positivity by State/Territory
