Biden Sets New Goal For 70% Of Americans To First Vaccine Shot By July 4

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday, amid national efforts to boost vaccination rates, that his administration hopes to achieve a goal of 70% of Americans receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine shot by July 4.

“As we anticipated, the pace of vaccinations is slowing, now that the majority of American adults have already gotten their first shot,” Biden said during a Tuesday speech announcing the new goal. “Soon we’ll have reached the adults who are most eager to get vaccinated and at that point this effort will shift to a new phase.”

The president denounced vaccine hesitancy and specifically looked to Republican males who are the demographic thought most likely to turn down a vaccine. “Two of our vaccines were authorized under a prior administration — Republican administration,” Biden said, reminding listeners that both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were authorized by the Food and Drug Administration under former President Donald Trump.

Biden had previously announced hopes for the United States to become closer to pre-pandemic conditions by July 4. With his new announcement, Biden put firm goals to achieve that end. “If we can continue to drive vaccinations up, and case loads down, we’ll need our masks even less and less,” Biden said, affirming that the CDC now advises fully vaccinated Americans may go outside without masks.

Biden also said that the United States will be ready on “day one” to vaccinate children aged 12-15, following Food and Drug Administration authorization.