The United States continues to hit key milestones in its vaccination effort, most notably that half of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, after a steady month of declines, the rate of inoculations has begun to tick upward again.

The country is about to surpass 50% of the population receiving at least one vaccination dose (49.7%), as well as half of all adults being fully vaccinated (50.3%), according to data from the CDC. 

Nearly 40% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

In addition, ten states have exceeded the 70% threshold of adults who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt.

Pennsylvania became the 10th state to hit the threshold, with another 10 above 65%. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that 64.4% adults in the Empire State have received at least one dose of the vaccine, just shy of the 65% figure, with 55.8% of adults in the state fully vaccinated.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have had more than half their residents fully vaccinated.

President Joe Biden announced a goal earlier this month of having 70% of all American adults receive at least one vaccine dose by July 4. As of Sunday, that number stood at 61.3%, and nine states — Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont — have already exceeded 70%.

All told, 163.3 million Americans have been administered at least one dose, and 130 million are fully vaccinated.

“Those Americans who've been vaccinated are at much lower risk and have more of their lives back,” White House senior COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters Friday. “They're able to do most things mask-free and with less reason to socially distance. …  The impact has been everything we could have hoped for, given the power of vaccines. Across the country, cases of COVID-19, serious illness and loss of life are all down dramatically from when we arrived.”

The seven-day average for new daily infections as of Saturday was 24,315 — the lowest it has been since June 15. For the first time since the early days of the pandemic, the seven-day average for daily deaths fell below 500 last week, although it stood at 510 Saturday.

The rate of vaccinations began to plunge last month, as supply outstripped demand. But the number of inoculations increased four consecutive days from May 15-18, the most recent days data are available.

The seven-day average for vaccinations as of May 18 was up to 1.7 million, which is still about half of its peak level of 3.3 million on April 11.

Government and health officials, as well as businesses, are continuing to look for new ways to encourage people to get vaccinated. 

On Monday, a Biden administration initiative in partnership with Uber and Lyft offering free rides to and from vaccination sites got underway. 

Ohio, New York and Maryland are entering vaccine recipients in million-dollar lotteries. 

And United Airlines on Monday became the latest major company to incentivize customers to get their shots by launching a contest for its loyalty program members who upload proof of vaccination to win free flights, including a grand prize of free airfare for a year.