Notations From the Grid (Special Friday Edition): Out & About in our World with #RandomThoughts

 

The state of the pandemic in seven charts  More than half of American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinations are ramping up for teenagers. The seven-day moving average for new cases is at levels not seen since late March 2020. Some states are ending unemployment benefits and many have dropped pandemic restrictions or might by the end of the month.  These seven charts illustrate the state of the pandemic from different angles as the nation moves toward recovery.   More than half of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose   In the week ending June 1, there was an average of 587,000 new vaccine recipients daily, down 71% from 2 million a day mid-April. At the current rate, 70% of the population will have at least one dose by mid-September.   As of June 1, 41% of the population (135.9 million people) is fully vaccinated. Eight states have higher vaccination rates than the nation overall  Three percent of North Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alabama started vaccinations in May. See the full list of where each state ranks.  24% of Americans 12 to 17 have received vaccinations The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 on May 12. Before this, the vaccine was limited to people 16 and older. In Vermont, 54% of children 12 and up started their vaccinations. Several states had child vaccination rates at or below 5%.   Vaccine hesitancy is dropping but persists in some states From May 12 to 24, about 21% of adults in the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey said they were less than absolute that they would get vaccinated or reported that they’d had their first shot and didn’t plan to receive a second. In mid-January, that figure was 45%.   Massachusetts had the lowest vaccine uncertainty, at 9%.   Anxiety and depression levels are declining  The pandemic exacerbated the trend of more and more Americans dealing with mental illness symptoms. However, anxiety and depression levels are currently at their lowest since the pandemic began. As of May 24, the Household Pulse Survey reported that 30% of adults had symptoms of anxiety or depression. This is the lowest percentage since the first survey run closed on May 5, 2020. Rates peaked at 43% in November.   Young adults, women, Hispanic Americans, and people without a high school diploma reported higher rates of anxiety and depression than others.  Government spending is down  The federal government spent $664.8 billion in April 2021, down from the $979.7 billion it spent to fund unemployment, support businesses, and keep people employed in April 2020. The $2.2 trillion CARES Act became law near the end of March 2020. By April 16, 2020, the Small Business Administration had approved loans worth at least $342 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program. Parse the data further at USAFacts and compare spending across federal programs.  Learn more about the state of the pandemic with these reports. And keep an eye on vaccine rates and new cases nationwide at the USAFacts coronavirus hub.  One last fact Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree fared better at keeping jobs or getting new ones during the pandemic. However, wage growth for people with bachelor’s degrees is less than the 14% wage increase for people who never graduated high school.