Vaccine Tipping Point
The US passed more than 200 million vaccine doses this week, meeting President Joe Biden's pledge to reach the goal within his first 100 days in office. As of this morning, more than 52% of US adults have been vaccinated (along with 80% of seniors), with the country averaging 3 million shots administered per day. See how your state is doing here.
Despite the progress, experts worry the US may be close to a tipping point where vaccine supply outpaces demand. Recent surveys suggest 62% of Americans have either gotten or plan to get vaccinated, with another 17% planning to "wait and see." At the current pace of vaccinations, the primary demand for vaccines may be satisfied by mid to late May. See an in-depth breakdown of vaccine intention by various demographics here.
New daily cases have dropped by about 10% over the past week (see data), but have averaged above 60,000 per day for the past month. Despite elevated cases, deaths continued to decrease slightly over the same timeframe, now averaging just under 700 deaths per day. Experts say this decoupling of deaths from case rates is due to vaccine uptake and the high rate of inoculation among seniors, the most vulnerable demographic.
Separately, read why health officials believe herd immunity in the US is increasingly unlikely.
Oxygen on Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover notched another Martian milestone this week, successfully producing oxygen from the planet's atmosphere. The feat marks a necessary first step toward the human exploration of Mars, with the goal of avoiding having to transport sufficient oxygen from Earth for astronauts to breathe while carrying out an extended mission. Oxygen is also a key component of rocket fuel, raising the possibility of future refueling stations on the planet.
The atmosphere on Mars is almost entirely carbon dioxide (95%), with trace amounts of oxygen and other gases. Perseverance's toaster-sized unit separates oxygen atoms from the carbon dioxide, while releasing carbon monoxide (technical overview). Roughly 5 grams of the gas were produced during the demonstration, about enough for an astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes.
The achievement also suggests the future possibility of long-term human settlement on the planet—something at least one group has already produced designs for.
Subway Bomber Sentenced
A man convicted of attempting a suicide bombing in one of New York City's busiest subway complexes was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. Akayed Ullah, 31, detonated a pipe bomb in the tunnel running from the city's Port Authority terminal to Times Square during morning rush hour in December 2017.
Only four people were injured in the attack after the homemade device malfunctioned, badly burning Ullah but failing to produce shrapnel, typically the deadliest component of such bombs. Officials later determined Ullah had been radicalized online, pledging the lone wolf attack to ISIS. Federal Judge Richard Sullivan said despite Ullah's failure in the attack he was not less culpable. And he lost his Amazon Prime account.
