The United States has set the pace to expand the spectrum of COVID-19 vaccines, while its vaccination campaign drags on as the country topped the world with 700,000 deaths on Friday.

64.6 percent received at least one dose

The average number of people getting vaccinated, at 270,531 per day, is the lowest it has been since August 15, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC updated on Saturday that 214,597,690 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making up 64.6 percent of the whole U.S. population. Fully vaccinated people stood at 184,852,416, accounting for 55.7 percent of the total. A total of 4,363,791 people, or 2.4 percent of the fully vaccinated group, received booster shots.

"Weekly COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the United States were down by 15 percent from the previous week," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky at a White House briefing on Friday. 

According to The New York Times' update, the seven-day average of confirmed cases of the pandemic stood at 109,192 nationwide on Friday, with its 14-day change striking a 27-percent fall. The COVID-19-related deaths were 1,883 on Friday, with the 14-day change realizing a 5-percent decrease.

Pills, more vaccines on the way

Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said on Friday that they created an antiviral pill that can reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization and death by about 50 percent, but health experts cautioned that it wasn't a replacement for vaccinations, which remain the most effective path to ending the coronavirus pandemic if enough people get their shots.

"This can be used in conjunction with the vaccine. And it's not an alternative to vaccination. We still have to try to get more people vaccinated," Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was quoted by CNN as saying.

Merck said that it will seek FDA emergency use authorization for its molnupiravir medication "as soon as possible." If permitted, it would become the first oral medicine that fights viral infection for COVID-19.

Also on Friday, the FDA announced that its independent vaccine advisory committee will hold three meetings in October to discuss COVID-19 booster shots, mix-and-match boosters and vaccines for children aged 5 to 11.

"The meetings set up a rough timeline for a slate of FDA decisions that could help the country avoid a damaging winter surge and ultimately help bring the pandemic to an end," reported U.S. news portal Politico.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)