The United States is working to get back on track with COVID-19 vaccination efforts after winter storms across the country cancelled appointments and derailed vaccine deliveries.

As of March 1, 7.7% of Americans have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

How Much Are Mass Vaccination Sites Helping?

How Stadiums and Amusement Parks Are Converted Into COVID-19 Vaccination Sites

Over the past week, Texas opened three such vaccination sites in Houston, Dallas, and Arlington. New York City launched two centers in Brooklyn and Queens. Each site should be able to vaccinate 3,000 people per day, except for Houston, which has the capacity for 6,00 shots per day.

A delay in reporting data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may account for lower than expected numbers.

Are Local Pharmacies the Answer?

While we’ll probably see the impact of mass vaccination sites increase over time (FEMA-backed sites are coming to Pennsylvania and Florida in the next few days), their failure to make an initial splash highlights the importance of more localized vaccination efforts in places where there is no central hub.

It bears repeating that West Virginia—who paved the way for setting up distribution channels with local pharmacies—has remained a national leader in COVID-19 vaccinations. West Virginia was the first state to opt out of a federal pharmacy partnership in favor of relying on more independent pharmacies for vaccine distribution. According to Gov. Jim Justice, 40% of the state’s pharmacies are not chain-affiliated.

COVID-19 Vaccines Set To Ship To Retail Pharmacies Across the Country

According to theNational Community Pharmacists Association(NCPA), there are several reasons why independent pharmacies are in a unique position to facilitate COVID-19 vaccination, if only they had the doses:

COVID-19 Vaccines May Now Be Available at Your Local Pharmacy

States With Fewer People Are Vaccinating People Faster

Unsurprisingly, states with lower population densities are working their way through their vaccine-eligible groups the fastest.Seven states have administered both vaccine doses to over 15% of their eligible populations:

Notably, these arenotthe states who are introducing FEMA-run mass vaccination sites.

ACIP Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccine AllocationPhase 1a.healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residentsPhase 1b.persons 75 years and older and frontline essential workersPhase 1c.persons 65–74 years old, persons 16–64 years old with high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workersPhase 2.all persons 16 years and older not previously recommended for vaccination

ACIP Recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation

Phase 1a.healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residentsPhase 1b.persons 75 years and older and frontline essential workersPhase 1c.persons 65–74 years old, persons 16–64 years old with high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workersPhase 2.all persons 16 years and older not previously recommended for vaccination

A Waiting Game

Why 70%?While there’s still no clear percentage of the population necessary to reach herd immunity for COVID-19, 70% is a good place to start. Herd immunity refers to the protectiveness achieved when a significant portion of a population develops immunity to an infectious disease, either through vaccination or having a prior illness. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, used to say 60% to 70% of the population needed to be vaccinated or recovered to reach herd immunity,his projection has evolvedto range from 70% to 90%.Herd immunity is a complex calculation that relies on both past infections and number of people vaccinated. Because the World Health Organization emphasizes herd immunity should rely on vaccination and not disease exposure,for the sake of projections, our numbers focus on the time it will take to hit 70% through vaccination alone.

Why 70%?

While there’s still no clear percentage of the population necessary to reach herd immunity for COVID-19, 70% is a good place to start. Herd immunity refers to the protectiveness achieved when a significant portion of a population develops immunity to an infectious disease, either through vaccination or having a prior illness. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, used to say 60% to 70% of the population needed to be vaccinated or recovered to reach herd immunity,his projection has evolvedto range from 70% to 90%.Herd immunity is a complex calculation that relies on both past infections and number of people vaccinated. Because the World Health Organization emphasizes herd immunity should rely on vaccination and not disease exposure,for the sake of projections, our numbers focus on the time it will take to hit 70% through vaccination alone.

While there’s still no clear percentage of the population necessary to reach herd immunity for COVID-19, 70% is a good place to start. Herd immunity refers to the protectiveness achieved when a significant portion of a population develops immunity to an infectious disease, either through vaccination or having a prior illness. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, used to say 60% to 70% of the population needed to be vaccinated or recovered to reach herd immunity,his projection has evolvedto range from 70% to 90%.

Herd immunity is a complex calculation that relies on both past infections and number of people vaccinated. Because the World Health Organization emphasizes herd immunity should rely on vaccination and not disease exposure,for the sake of projections, our numbers focus on the time it will take to hit 70% through vaccination alone.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States.

Mitchell E.Pentagon, FEMA open mass vaccination sites in Texas and New York.The Hill.

FEMA.FEMA Supporting Vaccination Centers Nationwide.

Young C.Governor details nursing home vaccination plan.WV News.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Pharmacies Participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

World Health Organization.Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Herd immunity, lockdowns and COVID-19.

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