The president wants to get the number of adults in the U.S. that have received at least one COVID-19 shot to 70% by July 4, according to senior administration officials who previewed Tuesday’s planned announcement at the White House.
The number of adults who have received at least one shot is now hovering around 56%. In March, the president said he was hopeful that America would be able to "mark independence" from COVID-19 on July 4.
All Americans 16 and older are eligible to get the vaccine, but daily vaccination rates have been slowing now that those who were most eager to get vaccinated have already been inoculated.
To get vaccination rates moving higher at a faster pace, the Biden administration is expected to call for states to make vaccines available on a walk-in basis and will direct many pharmacies to do the same. Other new steps to boost vaccination rates will reportedly include:
Redirecting federal assistance away from mass vaccination sites and toward more pop-up and mobile clinics;
Spending tens of millions of dollars on education and outreach campaigns through states, national organizations and community groups including those that work with underserved communities; and
Sending doses directly to rural communities. Rural health clinics and hospitals are also receiving hundreds of millions of dollars through the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to boost their services.
Officials said that Biden’s vaccination goal would result in a significant reduction of COVID-19 cases as summer gets underway, which would ultimately bring America closer to normalcy.