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The White House announced plans to help boost the vaccination rate in the United States after the country failed to reach President Joe Biden's goal of vaccinating at least 70% of the adult population by Independence Day.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 58.3 % of adults are fully vaccinated, while 67.1% have received their first dose of the vaccine. Health officials are trying to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible to help curb the spread of the more transmissible delta variant.
"Our fight against this virus is not over," Biden said during brief remarks at the White House. "Right now, as I speak to you, millions of Americans are still unvaccinated and unprotected. And because of that, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk, the people they care about are at risk."
The Biden administration will be deploying COVID-19 response teams to areas dealing with a surge in cases. They will work with local officials to help combat the spread of the variants and urge people to get vaccinated. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the teams will be setting up mobile vaccine sites and doing "door-to-door outreach to get remaining Americans vaccinated."
The administration will also be working to get more vaccines shipped out to local pharmacies, doctor's offices, and work sites. They will also be focusing on supplying the vaccines to pediatricians with the goal of vaccinating as many children as possible before they return to school in the fall.
"We can't get complacent now," Biden said. "You can do this. Let's finish the job."