Analysis: Covid-19 vaccinations are climbing. But familiar mistakes could lead to more misery

For more than a year, the US has battled a ruthless enemy: a novel virus that took no mercy on American communities, crippled hospital systems and took the lives of more than half a million people.

But after a long road of despair, there's good reason to be optimistic now: Covid-19 vaccines are being administered across the US at record speed -- nearly five times faster than the global average. "We are so close -- so very close -- to getting back to the everyday activities we all miss so much," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a recent White House Covid-19 briefing. "But we're not quite there yet."