President Joe Biden's administration conceded Tuesday that it will fall short of its goal of having partially vaccinated 70 per cent of adult Americans by July 4th - but officials vowed they would 'crush' COVID-19 and said they have incentives in the work to raise the vaccination rate.
Officials blamed the missed goal - of having one shot in the arm of 70% of adult Americans - because of the slow vaccination rate among 18-to-26-year-olds.
'The country has more work to do, particularly with 18-to-26 year-olds. The reality is many younger Americans have felt like COVID-19 is not something that impacts them, and they've been less eager to get the shot,' Jeffrey Zients, the head of the White House COVID response team, said at a press briefing.
'It'll take a few extra weeks to get to 70% of all adults with at least one shot with the 18-to-26-year-olds factored in,' he added.
He also conceded the White House would fall short on Biden's goal to have 150 million Americans fully vaccinated by Independence Day, coming in a few weeks late.
'We will hit 160 million Americans fully vaccinated no later than mid July,' he said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said incentives remain in the works to get young people to vaccination clinics, including more public appearances by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become the star of the pandemic.
'It's not just Dr. Fauci on TikTok but that is happening,' she said at her press briefing on Tuesday. 'Dr. Fauci has done several Q&As with TikTok and Instagram influencers to answer questions to meet people where they are, including young people, give them information they need.'
She pointed out the administration is working with the business sector on give-aways to get more shots in arms.
'Microsoft is giving away Xboxes at Boys and Girls Clubs, the College Challenge is rallying university students across the country, Walgreens is giving out $25 to anyone who gets vaccinated there before July 4th,' she said.
Fauci, meanwhile, vowed the US would crush the coronavirus.
'No one should think that when we reach the 70% across the country that we're done. We are not done until we completely crushed this outbreak,' he said.
He did not offer a definition of what 'crushing' the virus meant.
'We're gonna continue to vaccinate millions and millions more Americans across the coming months,' Fauci said.
Jeffrey Zients, the head of the White House COVID response team, announced the Biden administration would not hit its goal to have partially vaccinated 70% of adult Americans, blaming low vaccine rate among 18-to-26-year-olds
Dr. Anthony Fauci vowed the country would 'crush' the coronavirus
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said incentives remain in the works to get young people to vaccination clinics
Administration officials kept a positive spin atop the news of their failure to reach Biden's goals for Independence Day.
'We have succeeded beyond our highest expectations,' Zients argued.
In his opening remarks on the state of pandemic in the United States, Zients kept his comments positive and emphasized what the administration has accomplished.
He pointed out that the White House has met Biden's goal of getting at least one shot in the arm of adults for Americans aged 30 and older. He added that goal would be met for adults 27 and older by the time the July 4th weekend passed.
He also noted that 16 states and Washington DC have hit the 70% rate for all adults.
And he emphasized: 'We are gonna have a Fourth of July celebration which is beyond everyone's highest expectations.'
Fauci also noted there would be no 'surge' of COVID infections despite the White House not meeting its goals.
'There will be local, type of regional outbreaks,' Fauci warned, saying it was 'totally and completely avoidable by getting vaccinated.'
Biden set his original July 4th goals on
