The United States will miss President Biden’s original goal of getting at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine to 70 percent of adults by July 4, a White House official confirmed Tuesday to The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview planned remarks.
The White House will instead announce a new goal: ensuring that 70 percent of Americans age 27 and up receive at least one shot through the July 4 holiday weekend, the official said. Seventy percent of Americans age 30 and up have already received at least one shot, the official said.
The White House’s planned announcement Tuesday is a formal acknowledgment of what had become clear in recent weeks: The United States had fallen behind Biden’s goal as vaccinations slowed, particularly in the South and Midwest. Health officials have struggled to persuade younger Americans to get vaccinated despite lotteries, gifts and other promotions. NBC News first reported the White House’s planned announcement.
Biden, who in May announced his target of ensuring that 70 percent of adults had received at least one shot by July 4, has avoided mentioning his goal in recent remarks. Instead, the president and White House officials have touted the significant progress in vaccinations this year and the corresponding downturn in coronavirus cases and deaths. Biden also is planning to host an Independence Day celebration at the White House with about 1,000 military and front line workers, an event intended to mark the nation’s progress against the virus.
As of Tuesday, about 64 percent of adults had received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, according to tracking by The Post, up from about 5 percent when Biden took office in January.
The vaccination pace has slowed dramatically since mid-April, when more than 3 million shots per day were being administered, according to the seven-day rolling average. About 1.1 million shots a day were administered in the past week.
Projections suggest that no more than 68 percent of adults will have received at least one shot by July 4, and that it may take until August to reach Biden’s original goal.
Public health officials have said the United States needs widespread immunity to prevent a resurgence of covid-19 cases this year.
White House officials and outside advisers have dismissed the significance of Biden missing his goal, maintaining they are more concerned about regional variations in vaccination rates that could lead to a rebound of the virus.
Sixteen mostly East and West Coast states, plus D.C., have vaccinated 70 percent of adult residents, and four more states are above 68 percent and will probably reach Biden’s original goal. But other states are lagging behind and are set to miss the milestone.
The overall figures can disguise the patchwork nature of the U.S. response, with significant variation in vaccination rates and virus spread among regions and even within states.
For instance, in Lawrence County, Tenn. — a rural county on the southern edge of the state, home to a city billed as the “Crossroads of Dixie” — fewer than 35 percent of adults have received at least one shot of vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in Davidson County, a largely urban county that surrounds the city of Nashville, more than 60 percent of adults have received at least one shot, CDC said.
Meanwhile, about 77 percent of adults in New London County, Conn. — which features a mix of rural and urban communities, located in one of the nation’s wealthiest states — have received at least one dose of vaccine, CDC said.
Liberal groups have blamed GOP officials for minimizing the threat of coronavirus outbreaks, with some Republican governors dismissing opportunities to encourage their constituents to get shots.
