More than 4 million more vaccinations were reported over the weekend, a significantly faster clip than in previous days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly one in 10 Americans have now received at least one shot. But just 2.9% of the US population has been fully vaccinated, a long way from the 70% or more that experts say need to be inoculated.
Deaths from coronavirus are still running at close to all-time highs, at an average of about 3,160 per day, down about 200 since mid-January.
The sight of fans, many without masks, celebrating the Super Bowl in the streets, in sports bars and at game-watching parties also sparked worries of new outbreaks.
“This isn’t how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl,” the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, Rick Kriseman, tweeted after a maskless party was hosted by rapper 50 Cent in a hangar at the city’s airport, not far from where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the title.