President Biden's goal to get 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 is in jeopardy.
With less than two weeks to go, a little more than 65% of adults have at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, but the demand to get vaccinated has dramatically fallen.
He didn't mention his target when he spoke Friday, Instead saying the White House is shifting its focus to the COVID-19 Delta variant. President Biden warned about its spread in states with low vaccination rates.
“It doesn't necessarily appear more pathogenic, meaning more dangerous. But it's infecting people more easily. And it's starting to become very prevalent in the U.K. in communities that are unvaccinated. So kids for example, young people, seem to be the population that's spreading it in the United Kingdom," said former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. "When we look across the United States, we see wide variance in terms of vaccination rates. Some states like Vermont and Connecticut have very high vaccination rates above 80%. Other states are struggling to get to 50%."
The CDC said it expects the Delta variant to become the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S.
The latest numbers show about 45% of Americans are fully vaccinated. That's about 150 million people.
