"Act now, act now," Biden said in remarks at the White House, urging
the unvaccinated to talk to their family and friends who have had
shots and to their doctors.
Deaths and hospitalizations are going "drastically down in places
where people are getting vaccinated," but not other areas, Biden
said. "They're actually going up in some places."
At the current pace, the United States seems unlikely to hit Biden's
goal of having 70% of adults receive at least one dose of a COVID-19
vaccine by July 4, the Independence Day holiday.
As of Friday, around 65.1% of people in the United States had gotten
at least one shot, and that mark has increased by less than one
percentage point over the past two weeks.
That pace would have to more than double over the next two weeks for
the United States to hit the target.
The White House had no immediate comment on the possibility of
missing the July 4, 70% goal. Currently, only 15 states and
Washington, D.C. have achieved that level.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jun/19/images/ads/current/Culligan_lda_HOMETOWNHEROES_2021.png)
U.S. government data https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographic
show a political divide as well, with states won by former President
Donald Trump lagging well behind in vaccination rates than those won
by Biden.
“When you get the vaccine for yourself, that means that you will not
possibly pass it on to somebody else in general because you’re
unlikely to get COVID," Harris said during a vaccination drive at
Atlanta's famed Ebenezer Baptist Church. "Isn't that an extension of
love thy neighbor?" she said, to which several in the audience
responded, "Amen!"
The United States has administered 300 million COVID-19 vaccinations
in 150 days, a White House official said on Friday ahead of Biden's
speech.
First lady Jill Biden and other officials have mounted a
campaign-style push to encourage more Americans to get shots, using
public appearances, local media interviews and advertisements to
dispel lingering concerns.
Officials said Biden's push to accelerate vaccinations since taking
office in January was paying off, with COVID-19 cases,
hospitalizations and deaths down to their lowest levels since the
start of the pandemic in early 2020.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Jun/19/images/ads/current/farmersbank_lda_HOMETOWNHEROS_2021.png) Earlier this week, the United
States marked a grim milestone, surpassing
600,000 COVID-19 deaths.
The U.S. death toll remains the highest in the
world, although other countries, including
Brazil, Britain and Russia, have higher death
rates as a measure of their populations.
A White House fact sheet said the number of
COVID-19 deaths has decreased by 90% since Biden
took office in January, when more than 3,300
Americans were dying each day, and highlighted
big gains in the economy as people return to
work.
It said more than 175 million Americans had
received at least one shot, and 55% of adults
were fully vaccinated.
'A SERIOUS CONCERN'
Addressing racial imbalances in vaccination
rates remained a continuing concern, the White
House said, but pointed to gains there as well.
In the past month, it said, people of color made
up 54% of nationwide vaccinations although they
comprise 40% of the U.S. population.
Biden said the new Delta virus variant, first
detected in India, was "a serious concern" which
underscored the need to keep increasing
vaccination rates.
"It's a variant that is more easily
transmissible, potentially deadlier and
particularly dangerous for young people," he
said. "But the good news is we have a solution.
The science and the data are clear. The best way
to protect yourself against these variants is to
get fully vaccinated."
The Biden administration is counting on faith
leaders and community groups to help increase
vaccination rates and overcome lingering vaccine
hesitancy, especially among people of color.
"Church is always a healing place. It’s so
appropriate that we’re doing this here," Harris
said in remarks at Ebenezer Baptist, where civil
rights leader the Reverend Martin Luther King
Jr. and his father once preached.
"We just need to get the word out. One of the
most important ways is friend to friend,
neighbor to neighbor ... please help us get the
word out," she urged.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Michael Erman;
Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing
by Bill Berkrot, Heather Timmons and Jonathan
Oatis)
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