The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its latest data, said that at least 25 states, including Washington DC, have fully vaccinated at least half of their adult residents. Emphasising how effective the vaccination can be, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that “we have proven that we can beat back COVID all over this country”.

“So, I absolutely believe COVID-19 will continue to go down, vaccinations will go up and recovery will be strong,” CNN quoted de Blasio as saying.

He added that the city’s public school will fully return to physical learning in September. However, a remote-learning option will not be available; NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said that masks will still be required in schools.

Nearly half of all in the US have been administered one shot, the data showed. Across the US, around 61.3% American adults have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 49.6% are fully vaccinated.

The state of Maine has recorded the highest proportion of fully vaccinated adults – with more than 62% of people 18 and over having completed their shots.

“Across the country, cases of COVID-19, serious illness and loss of life are all down dramatically,” White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt was quoted as saying by CNN.

Those states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.