The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has reached 5 million, by far the highest in the world. That’s according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms.

The bleak milestone was reached as new cases in the U.S. run at about 54,000 a day.

While that’s down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing.

Some good news about COVID-19 vaccinations. The number of Americans who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is more than the total number of Americans who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started.

As of Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 26.44 million people in this country had gotten at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Those are the two vaccines approved by the FDA for emergency use right now.

At the same time, Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 tracker reports that 26.377 million people in this country have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last year.

The number of Americans getting vaccinated each day is increasing, while at the same time, there is a plateau or even decline in some areas, in the number of new COVID-19 infections each day.

Soon there could be a third vaccine option for people in this country, as Johnson & Johnson plans to apply for FDA’s emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine this month.