A 14-year-old recipient of a Coronavirus vaccination in Pasadena, California, May 14, 2021 (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

The US falls below 20,000 daily Coronavirus cases, with the 7-day average just over 25,000.

Saturday’s total was 18,016 cases, compared to 300,069 on January 8. The weekly average of 25,689 is a drop of almost 90% from the 254,002 on January 9.

There were 478 deaths on Saturday, and a weekly average of 578. The US records are 4,406 and a weekly average of 3,352, both set on January 26.

There are still hot spots in the Deep South, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest. However, the vaccination drive since the Biden Administration took office on January 20 has finally suppressed the pandemic in many areas, 16 months after the first death in the US. The number of counties with high levels of transmission — 694 — is less than half the figure in mid-April.

More than 60% of US adults have had at least one jab, nearing President Joe Biden’s goal of 70% by July 4. Almost 50% of all Americans have had one injection, and 39% are fully vaccinated.

The US death toll stands at 589,703, with 33,104,879 confirmed cases.

“I’m Sure That We Can Control It”

Public health specialists are watching if Americans refusing vaccinations will hold up further progress.

David Rubin, director of PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “If we’re continuing to have disease reservoirs and we have areas with low vaccinations, it’ll hang on until the fall and start to pick up pace again. It’ll find pockets where there are unvaccinated individuals, and have these sporadic outbreaks.”

Ali Mokdad, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, echoed, “The rise in winter depends on what escape variants are circulating and how fast we pick up our masks and good behaviors.”

The White House’s top Coronavirus expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, summarized:

I’m sure that we can control it.

Somewhere between control and elimination is where we’re going to wind up. Namely a very, very low level that isn’t a public health hazard that doesn’t disrupt society.