US hits 70% vaccination rate amid Covid surge

August 03, 2021 08:49

The United States has finally reached US President Joe Biden's goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70 per cent of American adults -- a month late and amid a fierce surge by the Delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.

Biden had set a vaccination goal of 70 per cent by July 4. That figure was the low end of initial government estimates for what would be necessary to achieve herd immunity in the US But that has been rendered insufficient by the highly contagious delta variant, which has enabled the virus to come storming back.

The US still has not hit the administration's other goal of fully vaccinating 165 million American adults by July 4. It is about 8.5 million short.

New cases per day in the US have increased sixfold over the past month to an average of nearly 80,000, a level not seen since mid-February. And deaths per day have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 259 to 360.

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