The Biden administration is planning to confirm on Tuesday that it most likely won’t hit the president's stated goal of getting 70% of American adults to receive one vaccine shot or more by the Fourth of July, according to remarks made to NBC News.
White House Covid czar Jeff Zients will announce that the administration has met the 70% mark for those aged 30 and older, insiders say. Zients will also share that those 27 and older are likely to hit the mark by July 4, according to NBC News.
However, the original goal set out by President Biden to have all adults be 70% vaccinated by the Fourth of July will take a few more weeks to hit, Zients will say in his prepared remarks.
In March, Biden spoke about being able to celebrate Independence Day with friends and family. Now even with the overarching goal unmet, Zients will insist that the White House has “succeeded beyond our highest expectations” in the administration vaccination program, achieving that goal.
In early May, Biden set two goals: administering at least one shot to 70% of adults across the U.S. and fully vaccinating 160 million American adults by the Fourth of July. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that roughly 65% of American adults, approximately 144 million Americans age 18 and up, have received one shot or more as of Monday.
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President Biden’s administration also announced on Monday that it plans to distribute the remaining 55 million of the 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses that the president pledged to allocate by the end of the month, according to CNN.
Of the 80 million doses that will be shared, the White House said that 75% would be shared through the global vaccination program called Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, and 25% will be shared directly with counties in need.
"Our goals are to increase global COVID-19 vaccination coverage, prepare for surges and prioritize healthcare workers and other vulnerable populations based on public health data and acknowledged best practice, and help our neighbors and other countries in need," the White House said in a statement. "And, as we have previously stated, the United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries."
The administration is continuing to push for Americans to get vaccinated as vaccination rates have started to fall from the seven-day average of 2.2 million shots per day across all age groups on May 4 to 1.1 million as of June 21, according to the CDC.
The remarks made to NBC News by Zients also say that he will comment that younger Americans have been more hesitant to get the shot while stressing its importance with the spread of the Delta variant.
“Our work does not stop on July 4th or at 70%,” Zients will say in his remarks, calling Biden’s targets an “aspirational goal to drive progress in a short period of time.”
“We want every American in every community to be protected and free from fear of the virus,” Zients will say.