COVID-19 infections are coming down across the country. A
new model estimates that 185 million Americans will be fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 by September.
But vaccine hesitancy could contribute to a winter surge.
For the first time since October, the seven-day average of
new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has fallen to 45,000 per day.
This comes as Pfizer-BioNTech announces it's seeking full
approval for its COVID-19 vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration.
Some health officials want to improve vaccine confidence
because they're concerned about a possible surge this winter, as different
variants of COVID-19 spread.
A forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation at the University of Washington says that 65% of Americans will be
fully vaccinated by the middle of July, and a wider group of adolescents are
expected to become eligible soon.
Full approval of Pfizer's vaccine could take 6 to 10 months.