Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People
COVID-19 Homepage
Prevention is the Best Defense
Interpretive Summary for October 22, 2021
Prevention is the Best Defense
COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to decline, while the number of people who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine continues to increase. As of October 21, 2021, more than 189 million people in the United States (approximately 57% of the total U.S. population) are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Everyone should get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible, including people who have already had COVID-19.
Studies show that the incidence of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death is higher among people who are unvaccinated compared to people who are fully vaccinated. A new COVID Data Tracker page shows that in August 2021, people who were unvaccinated were 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people who were fully vaccinated. A second new COVID Data Tracker page shows that people who were unvaccinated were 12 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to people who were fully vaccinated.* Additionally, a recent CDC-supported evaluation found that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were 93% effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in adolescents ages 12-18 years.
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 helps protect people from getting sick with or severely ill from COVID-19. People who are unvaccinated remain the most vulnerable to COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination, along with layered prevention strategies, continues to be our best defense against severe disease. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is fast, easy, and free. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit vaccines.gov or your state or local public health department website.
*Preliminary analyses through August 2021 show that among adults 18 years of age and older, the age-adjusted hospitalization rate was 12 times higher in unvaccinated people than those who were vaccinated. Among adults between 18-49 years of age, the rate was 14 times higher. And among adults 65 years and older, the rate was 9 times higher.
Note to readers: COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control. However, no vaccine is 100% effective at preventing illness and some “breakthrough infections” resulting in hospitalizations are expected among people who are fully vaccinated. Based on data from COVID-NET, of COVID-19-associated hospital admissions from January–August 2021, 7% were fully vaccinated; in August 2021, 21% were fully vaccinated. The proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are fully vaccinated is expected to increase as more people get vaccinated even though these vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization and death.
Reported Cases
The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (73,079) decreased 15.1% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (86,046). A total of 45,149,234 COVID-19 cases have been reported as of October 20, 2021.
45,149,234
Total Cases Reported
45,149,234
Total Cases Reported
73,079
Current 7-Day Average*
73,079
Current 7-Day Average*
86,046
Prior 7-Day Average
86,046
Prior 7-Day Average
-15.1%
Change in 7-Day Average since Prior Week
-15.1%
Change in 7-Day Average since Prior Week
*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 127,768 historical cases reported retroactively, 3,280 were reported in the current week and 3,611 were reported in the prior week.
Daily Trends in COVID-19 Cases in the United States Reported to CDC
7-Day moving average
SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Currently, Delta is the only variant classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC) in the United States. Nowcast projections* for the week ending October 16, 2021, estimate the national and regional proportions of the Delta variant to be greater than 99%.
*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.
Vaccinations
The U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program began December 14, 2020. As of October 21, 2021, 411 million vaccine doses have been administered. Overall, about 219.6 million people, or 66.2% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 189.9 million people, or 57.2% of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated.* About 11.6 million additional/booster doses in fully vaccinated people have been reported. As of October 21, 2021, the 7-day average number of administered vaccine doses reported (by date of CDC report) to CDC per day was 795,156, a 5.5% decrease from the previous week.
CDC’s COVID Data Tracker Vaccination Demographic Trends tab shows vaccination trends by age group. As of October 21, 2021, 96% of people ages 65 years or older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 84.5% are fully vaccinated. More than three-quarters (79.2%) of people ages 18 years or older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 68.7% are fully vaccinated. For people ages 12 years or older, 77.4% have received at least one dose of vaccine and 66.9% are fully vaccinated.
411,010,650
Vaccines Administered
411,010,650
Vaccines Administered
219,624,445
People who received at least one dose
219,624,445
People who received at least one dose
189,924,447
People who are fully vaccinated*
189,924,447
People who are fully vaccinated*
66.2%
Percentage of the US population that has received at least one dose
66.2%
Percentage of the US population that has received at least one dose
57.2%
Percentage of the US population that has been fully vaccinated*
57.2%
Percentage of the US population that has been fully vaccinated*
+0.6
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.6
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.5
Percentage point increase from last week
+0.5
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 October 13–October 19, 2021, was 6,004. This is an 10.3% decrease from the prior 7-day average (6,695) from October 6–October 12, 2021.
3,185,778
Total New Admissions
3,185,778
Total New Admissions
6,004
Current 7-Day Average
6,004
Current 7-Day Average
6,695
Prior 7-Day Average
6,695
Prior 7-Day Average
-10.3%
Change in 7-Day Average
-10.3%
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.
COVID-NET: Hospitalization Rates by Vaccination Status in Adults
CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) shows that through August 2021, rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations are higher in unvaccinated adults compared to fully vaccinated adults regardless of age. The age-adjusted COVID-19-associated hospitalization rate among adults ages 18 years and older was 12 times higher in unvaccinated people than in those who were vaccinated. Age-specific rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations are 14 times higher among unvaccinated adults ages 18-49 years, 15 times higher among unvaccinated adults ages 50–64 years, and 9 times higher among unvaccinated adults ages 65 years and older.
Hospitalization Rates by Vaccination Status in Adults
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 standardized case reporting form.
Deaths
The current 7-day moving average of new deaths (1,253) has decreased 4.3% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (1,309). As of October 20, 2021, a total of 730,368 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the United States.
730,368
Total Deaths Reported
730,368
Total Deaths Reported
1,253
Current 7-Day Average*
1,253
Current 7-Day Average*
1,309
Prior 7-Day Average
1,309
Prior 7-Day Average
-4.3%
Change in 7-Day Average Since Prior Week
-4.3%
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 10,471 historical deaths reported retroactively, 1,170 were reported in the current week; and 470 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
Testing
The percentage of COVID-19 NAATs (nucleic acid amplification tests)* that are positive (percent positivityExternal) has decreased from the previous week. The 7-day average of percent positivity from NAATs is now 5.2%. The 7-day average number of tests reported for October 8–October 14, 2021, was 1,416,658, down 7.4% from 1,529,545 for the prior 7 days.
607,673,640
Total Tests Reported
607,673,640
Total Tests Reported
1,416,658
7-Day Average Tests Reported
1,416,658
7-Day Average Tests Reported
5.2%
7-Day Average % Positivity
5.2%
7-Day Average % Positivity
5.6%
Previous 7-Day Average % Positivity
5.6%
Previous 7-Day Average % Positivity
-6.6%
Change in 7-Day Average % Positivity since Prior Week
-6.6%
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
- New How to Use COVID Data Tracker video highlights the many ways COVID Data Tracker can be used to access important data, including cases and deaths, hospitalizations, variants, vaccination progress, and more.
- New COVID Data Tracker Hospitalizations by Vaccination Status – COVID-NET tab shows hospitalization rates by vaccination status
- New COVID Data Tracker Rates of Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status tab shows infection and death rates by vaccination status
- Updated COVID Data Tracker Vaccinations in the US tab now shows booster dose data by jurisdiction
- Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccination Against COVID-19 Hospitalization Among Persons Aged 12–18 Years — United States, June–September 2021doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7037a3