Seattle Is First Major U.S. City To Vaccinate 70% Of Eligible Population — Here’s The Cities That Could Be Next
TOPLINE
Seattle said Wednesday it’s become the first major city in the country in which 70% of residents ages 12 and older are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and while San Francisco is likely to follow, few other U.S. cities have so far gotten close to that milestone.
KEY FACTS
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Wednesday the city had hit its 70% goal, with 78% of residents having received at least a first dose of the vaccine, and the city will now start focusing on reopening.
San Francisco will be the next city to hit the 70% mark, with 69% of residents 12 and up fully vaccinated as of Thursday
San Francisco may also be potentially the first city to reach “herd immunity,” experts projected to the Guardian, citing factors like a smaller population of children who aren’t yet vaccine eligible and the city’s compact geography making it easier for public health officials to go door to door to vaccinate homebound residents.
n Denver, 61.3% of its eligible population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and the city announced Wednesday that 70% of eligible residents have now received at least one shot.
New York City has fully vaccinated 56.3% of its adult residents (a percentage is not available for ages 12 and up), but public health data compiled by the New York Times suggests Manhattan will hit the 70% mark first, with 63% of those 12 and up now fully inoculated.
While city data is not publicly available, county-level data published by the Times shows particularly high rates of vaccinations among those 12 and up in Multnomah County, Oregon, where Portland is located (64% fully vaccinated); Santa Clara County, where San Jose is located (67.5%) and Hennepin County, Minnesota, where Minneapolis is located (62%).
CONTRA
While cities like Seattle and San Francisco near the 70% mark, a number of other major cities—even in liberal-leaning states with high vaccination rates—are still further off the goal. Philadelphia has only vaccinated 45% of those 12 and older, according to the Times’ data, for instance, while Los Angeles has vaccinated 53% of those 12 and up and Cook County, Illinois, where Chicago is located, has vaccinated 50% of those 12 and up. The city of Baltimore has vaccinated 48.3% of adults, according to city government data.
BIG NUMBER
50.3%. That’s the total percentage of those 12 years and over in the U.S. who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
KEY BACKGROUND
President Joe Biden has set a goal of 70% of all U.S. adults receiving at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by July 4, which Dr. Anthony Fauci has said should have a “substantial effect” on Covid-19 transmission and allow the country to “really approach getting back to some sort of normality.” So far 13 states have passed that 70% goal, and though vaccine enthusiasm is high in some parts of the country, vaccination rates are lagging behind in a number of other areas due to high rates of vaccine hesitancy. City and state officials have rolled out a number of incentives encouraging residents to get the shot as a result, including city-level prizes like a $50,000 cash drawing in Philadelphia, special music events in Chicago and free subway rides in New York City.
Alison DurkeeForbes Staff
posted by Zo Heri at 6:40 PM
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