Biden administration to say it doubtless will not hit Fourth of July targets

United States President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the South Court Auditorium of the White House on June 2, 2021 in Washington, DC.

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The Biden administration plans to confirm Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s goal of getting 70% of American adults to receive one or more vaccines by July 4th is unlikely to be met, according to NBC’s preliminary notes News.

White House Covid Tsar Jeff Zients will announce that the government has hit the 70 percent mark for those ages 30 and older and is on track to get them by Nov. 4, according to NBC News. July for the 27-year-olds. But it will likely be a few more weeks beyond the holidays before the adult milestone is reached, Zients will say in his prepared remarks.

Still, Zients will insist that, according to remarks in its vaccination program, the White House “exceeded our highest expectations” and achieved a vision for Biden in March to safely meet with friends and family to celebrate the holiday.

Biden set two goals in early May: to have 70% of adults in the United States given at least one vaccination, and to fully vaccinate 160 million American adults by Independence Day.

About 65% of American adults will have had one or more injections by Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CNBC analysis of the CDC data shows that with the current vaccination schedule, about 67% of adults are at least partially vaccinated by the fourth.

According to CDC data, around 144 million people aged 18 and over are fully vaccinated, on the way to reaching around 151 million if the current pace of daily vaccinations reported remains constant.

When Biden first announced his two goals on May 4th, the US was well on its way to scoring both. However, according to CDC data, the vaccination rate has fallen in the weeks since the seven-day average from 2.2 million vaccinations per day in all age groups to 1.1 million on June 21.

The government has easily met its previous vaccination goals in the first 100 days of the president’s tenure. Biden initially targeted 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, which was criticized as being too easy, and achieved it on day 58. The White House raised the target to 200 million vaccinations, which it surpassed on the 92nd day of the presidency.

Amid the vaccination campaign, nationwide case numbers have dropped to levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic, although the risk of disease remains for the unvaccinated.

Zients will comment on the fact that many younger Americans were less eager to get an injection, according to NBC News, and emphasize the importance of vaccinations for this age group due to the spread of the Delta variant.

Biden warned on Friday that the highly contagious variant, first identified in India, appears to be “particularly dangerous” for young people.

“The data is clear: if you are not vaccinated, there is a risk that you will become seriously ill, or die, or spread,” Biden said during a White House press conference.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have already reached Biden’s goal, led by Vermont, Hawaii and Massachusetts, where more than 80% of adults are at least partially vaccinated.

Other states are lagging behind, 17 of which are below the 60% mark. These include Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, and Alabama, each of which less than 50% of its adult residents hit one or more shots.

“Our work does not stop on July 4th or at 70%”, Zients will say in his remarks, and Biden’s goals will be described as “aspiring goals in order to achieve progress in a short time”.

“We want every American in every community to be protected and free from fear of the virus,” Zients will say.

– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.

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