The United States surpassed a significant milestone Friday toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 100 million people having received at least one vaccine dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number as of early Friday afternoon stood at 101.8 million, or 30.7% of the population. Nearly 58 million are fully vaccinated — 17.5% of the population.

“It is truly inspiring for me to see many Americans embracing vaccination,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. “We know that the massive scale-up of vaccination is the key to protecting the American people and to inching us closer to our regular lives.”

Nearly three-quarters of Americans age 65 or older have received at least one shot, while 53.5% are fully vaccinated.

The Biden administration announced Friday that 20 million shots have been administered over the past seven days, an average of 2.9 million doses a day, a new high.

“This is an unprecedented pace,” Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 coordinator, said. “No other country is vaccinating this many people this fast.”

President Joe Biden had set a May 1 target date for states to open vaccine eligibility to all adults. He announced earlier this week that the country is on track for 90% of adults to be eligible by April 19.

Meanwhile, as states relax more safety measures and variants spread, the number of new coronaviruses cases continues to rise, fueling fears that the country could be headed for a fourth wave. 

According to CDC data, there were nearly 75,000 new infections Thursday, the most recorded since Feb. 24. The seven-day average for new cases is 63,727, up nearly 11,000 from two weeks ago.

Nine hundred seven more people died from the virus Thursday, bringing the U.S. death toll over 550,000, according to CDC numbers.

In a speech Friday, Biden implored Americans not to treat the pandemic as though it’s over.

“I plead with you. Don't give back the progress we've all fought so hard to achieve,” he said. “We need to finish this job. We need every American to buckle down and keep their guard up in this home stretch. Wear your mask, keep safe distance from one another, wash your hands, get vaccinated when it's your turn. That's how we're going to beat the virus, cast off the weight of the pandemic that's holding our economy back.”