ATLANTA — The race to get more shots into arms continues as COVID-19 cases continue to climb.
As of Monday, data shows about 50% of eligible Georgians have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. That leaves half of the population of eligible residents still without the shots.
Out of those vaccinated, at least 8% have received one dose. The other 42% are fully vaccinated.
The graph below shows the breakdown of vaccination rates in the state.
While the number of increased vaccinations is encouraging, the state still has a long way to go.
According to an article published in April by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, stopping the virus would require a large percent of the population to become immune from the illness.
"When most of a population is immune to an infectious disease, this provides indirect protection—or population immunity (also called herd immunity or herd protection)—to those who are not immune to the disease," the article states.
The article also indicates that what health experts have learned so far about the virus suggests there is a need for at least 70% of a population to be immune to keep the rate of infection down.
Health and state leaders continue to push others to get the shots. On Monday, the U.S. Food Drug and Administration granted the Pfizer vaccine full approval.