More than 1 million Massachusetts residents now fully vaccinated

BOSTON (AP) — More than 1 million Massachusetts residents have now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Charlie Baker announced in a tweet Friday.

The number is a major milestone in the state’s efforts to ramp up vaccinations in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Massachusetts has now fully vaccinated over 1 million people and continues to be a national leader in vaccine administration,” the Republican tweeted Friday. “Thank you to everyone who has supported this progress!”

The state reported on Thursday that more than 2.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts, including nearly 1.7 million first doses.

As of Friday, the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll stood at 16,469 since the start of the pandemic, while its confirmed caseload rose to more than 576,000.

The number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by nearly 1,900 Friday, while the number of newly confirmed coronavirus deaths rose by 43. There were an estimated 26,000 people with current active cases of COVID-19 in the state.

The true number of cases is likely higher because studies suggest some people can be infected and not feel sick.

There were fewer than 600 people reported hospitalized because of confirmed cases of COVID-19. The average age of those hospitalized was 61.

The number of probable or confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported in long-term care facilities rose to 8,827.

More than 2.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Massachusetts, including nearly 1.8 million first doses and 955,000 second doses.