Biden : US to reach 160 million fully vaccinated citizens by the end of the week
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said the US is predicted to reach the mark of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the end of this week and asserted that the country is closer than ever to declaring its independence from the deadly virus.
“Today after receiving a briefing from my entire Covid-19 team, I’m proud to announce that we’re getting even closer, because of our wartime effort, to administer 300 million shots in arms in just 150 days. More than 182 million Americans have received at least one shot, including nearly 90 per cent of seniors and 70 per cent of adults over the age of 27,” Biden said.
“This is an even bigger concern because of the Delta variant,” he said, adding that the Delta variant is already responsible for half of all cases in many parts of the country. Biden said it’s more easily transmissible and potentially more dangerous.
“It seems to me that it should cause everybody to think twice. And it should cause reconsideration, especially in young people who may have thought that they didn’t have to be vaccinated, didn’t have to worry about it, or didn’t have to do anything about it up to now,” he said. The president said the good news is that vaccines are highly effective.
Biden said his administration would devote the remainder of the summer toward getting more people vaccinated, including going door-to-door in neighbourhoods to get help to more people who are unprotected from the virus. He said 42,000 local pharmacies would serve as vaccine sites. Renewed emphasis would be placed on getting vaccines to family doctors and medical providers as well, including those who serve younger people.
Vaccines would also be made available at workplaces, if possible, and more mobile clinics would be used to help at summer festivals, sporting events and houses of worship.
