More than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been injected in the United States, according to official figures from health authorities on Friday, or about 30% of the total number of injections performed worldwide.
Almost 20% of the American population has received at least one dose, according to the United States Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the country's leading federal public health agency).
Read also: The deployment of vaccines and the Biden plan are the best assets against the crisis, according to the OECD
Three vaccines are urgently authorized in the United States: that of Johnson & Johnson, which requires only one dose per person, and those of Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech, which are administered in two doses.
US President Joe Biden had promised 100 million doses injected in 100 days from taking office on January 20.
This symbolic threshold was thus finally exceeded in half the time expected.
The United States and its roughly 330 million people are running their vaccination campaign with a bang, currently injecting around 2.2 million doses per day.
To further increase the pace, they announced on Friday that they would allow a whole series of professions, including midwives, dentists and veterinarians, to vaccinate.
Are all adult Americans eligible for the vaccine by May 1?
People "
recently retired
" from these professions, as well as former pharmacists, will also be able to perform the injections "
if they still enjoyed a good reputation at the time of the expiration of their license,
" said the White House.
Students of medicine, nursing and other eligible professions will also be able to vaccinate, “
with appropriate training and under professional supervision
”.
"
Thanks to today's measure, more health personnel (...) will be eligible to participate in the national effort to immunize the American population
", welcomed the White House in a statement.
A website has been launched so that people who think they fit into these categories can volunteer.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday night wished all adult Americans to be eligible for the vaccine by May 1, regardless of their age or medical history.
This is already the case in Alaska and another state, Michigan, announced that it would in turn open the vaccination to all people over 16 years of age on April 5.
By the end of May, the United States will have delivered enough doses to cover the entire adult population, the executive promised.
Joe Biden also announced Thursday the deployment of 4,000 additional troops to participate in the vaccination campaign, bringing their total number to 6,000. Globally, at least 343.64 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered, in at least 144 countries or territories, according to one count.
