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Nearly half of new US virus infections are in just 5 states

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots.

New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections. That’s nearly 197,500 new cases in the latest available seven-day period. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000.

So far, the White House has shown no signs of shifting from its policy of dividing vaccine doses among states based on population.