U.S. COVID Cases Decline Sharply, Marks Vaccination Milestone
A prisoner at the Bolivar County Correctional Facility receives a Covid-19 vaccination administered by medical workers with Delta Health Center on April 28, 2021 in Cleveland, Mississippi. The prisoners, part of a population particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, are given a choice between the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the Moderna. So far, an estimated 23 percent of Mississippians are fully vaccinated, and the Mississippi State Department of Health has reported a total of 334 new cases as of April 27. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New COVID cases in the United States are seeing a sharp downward trend as millions of people continue to participate in the vaccination program of the government.

The weekly average of daily new cases decreases to under 50,000 for the first time since October, and is down 17 percent from a week before, according to a CNBC News report.

Meanwhile, hospitalizations and mortality from the disease are also reducing.

Previous Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that the drop in new COVID cases in the U.S. is likely to continue.

He noted that it might be a quiet summer when it comes to the spread of the disease.

"Look, the situation in the U.S. continues to improve, and I think in the coming weeks we are going to see an acceleration in the decline in cases," Gottlieb was quoted in a report.

COVID Vaccination Program

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said around 100 million people in the country had been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Around 143 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, according to a Slash Gear report.

The CDC said that the new vaccination milestone was reached on Apr. 29.

Meanwhile, demands are dwindling in the country, with authorities looking for new ways to reach people who have not yet gotten a shot.

The people who are most eager to get a shot have already gotten their doses, posing a new challenge on how to reach the rest of the population, according to an AFP News report.

Public health officials also record COVID breakthrough cases, which is when fully vaccinated people become infected.

Clinical trials for the said vaccines said that they were not perfect, noting that the rate of infection among vaccinated has been extremely low.

"Breakthrough infections are to be expected, and the very small number indicates how very well the vaccines are providing protection," Dennis Burton, an immunologist at Scripps Research, was quoted in The San Diego Union-Tribune report.

Clinical trials showed that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are about 95 percent effective in preventing illness, while the Johnson & Johnson is around 66 percent effective.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca's vaccine is only 10 percent effective against the South African variant.

The CDC has revised its public health guidance and said that vaccinated people can attend small gatherings outdoors without wearing a mask.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that fully vaccinated people can do things much safer than those who are not fully vaccinated.

Biden has celebrated in decline in cases, saying that friends and families may now be able to celebrate the Fourth of July.

In the U.S., more than 32 million have been infected, while 577,000 people died. Public health authorities were reporting more than 200,000 new infections a day on average.

Meanwhile, India has recorded more than 400,000 new cases on Saturday.

U.S. pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said that India should go into lockdown for several weeks to curb the spread of COVID cases.

WATCH: Dr. Scott Gottlieb: Expect Covid cases to drop heading into May - from CNBC Television