US increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vax goal

vaccine

Washington (AP) — For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks.

Now, though, the U.S. is on pace to fall short of his aim to have 70 percent of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.

The White House has launched a month-long blitz to combat vaccine hesitancy and a lack of urgency to get shots, particularly in the South and Midwest. But it is increasingly resigned to missing the president’s vaccination target.

The administration insists that even if the goal isn’t reached, it will have little effect on the overall U.S. recovery from the virus.