increase font size U.S. makes progress on vaccinations even as COVID-19 cases surge New daily infections in the U.S. have increased 11% in the past two weeks, and the picture is still relentlessly grim in parts of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. By RUSS BYNUMAssociated Press Share A nurse inoculates sheet metal worker Demetrius Buttelman with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday in Elmont, N.Y. Mary Altaffer/Associated Press The United States opened more distance between itself and much of the rest of the world Thursday, nearing the 200 millionth vaccine administered in a race to protect the population against COVID-19, even as other countries, rich and poor, struggle with stubbornly high infection rates and deaths.