What We’re Reading: More Americans Vaccinated Than Infected; US Funds Rapid OTC COVID-19 Tests; Breast Most Common Cancer Worldwide

More Americans Vaccinated Than Infected With COVID-19

Reported by Bloomberg, the United States reached a milestone yesterday as more Americans have received at least 1 dose of a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than have tested positive for the virus. While vaccine rollout has been fragmented at the state level, the United States has been administering vaccine shots at a faster rate than any country worldwide, with 26.5 million Americans having received 1 or both doses of an available COVID-19 vaccine. Since the first US case of coronavirus was reported on January 20, 2020, 26.3 million people nationwide have tested positive.

Biden Administration Funds $230M of OTC Rapid COVID-19 Tests

Yesterday, the Biden administration announced they will be funding the mass production of a rapid, over-the-counter COVID-19 test designed by Australian company Ellume, which had received authorization for the test in December. Reported by The Hill, Ellume will receive nearly $232 million to manufacture the tests, adding to the $30 million it received from the National Institutes of Health's RADx initiative. The United States will additionally fund an American manufacturing facility, in which the company will be able to produce up to 19 million tests per month at full capacity.

Breast Cancer Surpasses Lung Cancer as the Most Common Cancer Worldwide

Reported by Reuters, the World Health Organization announced today that breast cancer (BC) has surpassed lung cancer as the most common form of cancer worldwide. Last year, an estimated 2.3 million new cases of BC were diagnosed, representing 11.7% of all cancer cases. After being the most common type of cancer for the last 2 decades, lung cancer is now second, followed by colorectal cancer as third most widespread. Notably, cancer is expected to become more common as the global population grows and life expectancy increases, with approximately 30 million new cases projected per year in 2040 compared with 19.3 million in 2020.