Biden touts COVID vaccine progress amid delta variant warning
Fox News correspondent Gillian Turner has the latest from the White House on 'Special Report'
The White House is expected to fall short of President Biden’s goal of partially vaccinating 70% of adults ages 27 and up against COVID-19 by July 4, but officials told Fox News Tuesday that the Biden administration has already met its target of delivering at least one dose to 70% of adults ages 30 and up.
A White House official told Fox News the administration is "on track" to hit the president’s target of delivering at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of adults 27 years old and up but said it would not meet that goal until after the July 4 holiday.
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The official told Fox News the White House is missing its goal of reaching that percentage for that age group by July 4 due to a "reporting lag," because states are not sending data in "as consistently."
The White House on Tuesday, though, will tout that it has delivered at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of adults 30 years old and up.
"We feel really good," the official said. "Today is a day to celebrate."
White House chief of staff Ron Klain tweeted Tuesday that 150 million Americans are "fully vaccinated" and that "70% of everyone over 30" has "one shot."
"The big thing we’ve been pushing toward is, does America look like America again?" the official continued. "And across the country, it does look like America. Can you see your family? Can you go to a baseball game? The answer is yes. You can do those things."
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The official also said the administration has ensured that "the most vulnerable are protected" and said it "will celebrate independence from the virus" on July 4 at the White House with more than 1,000 guests in attendance.
The president last week announced that more than 300 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to Americans in less than 150 days.
"Thanks to this wartime response, we've gotten 300 million shots in the arms of Americans in 150 days – months ahead of what anyone thought was possible when we started," Biden said, noting that "people were skeptical" over whether they would be able to reach 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.
"We did it, and we kept going," he said.
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The president, though, said that while the U.S. is making "incredible progress," the threat of COVID-19 is still "serious and deadly," referring to the Delta variant of COVID-19, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated last week as a "variant of concern."
"If you are unvaccinated, you are at risk of being seriously ill or dying or spreading it," Biden said. "People getting seriously ill, being hospitalized due to COVID-19 are those who have not been fully vaccinated."
"But the good news is, we have the solution," he said. "The science and the data are clear – the best way to protect yourself against these variants are to get fully vaccinated."
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The president went on to urge Americans to get their shots "as soon as you can."
The president plans to host first responders, essential workers and military service members and their families on the White House South Lawn for a cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall on July 4. More than 1,000 guests are expected, officials said.
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