Biden announces new goal of vaccinating 70 percent of American adults by July 4

President Biden's vaccination goals are heading into a new phase.

Biden said Tuesday his administration's new goal is that by the Fourth of July, 70 percent of American adults will have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, and 160 million Americans will be fully vaccinated.

"That means giving close to 100 million shots, some first shots, others second shots, over the next 60 days," Biden said. "Of course, Americans can still get shots after July 4th, but no one should wait. Let's try to hit that 70 percent mark."

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Meeting this goal, Biden added, will be a "serious step towards a return to normal." According to The Associated Press, the U.S. is currently administering about 965,000 first vaccine doses per day, which is down from a few weeks ago but nearly twice the pace required to hit Biden's new goal. Over 56 percent of American adults have received at least one vaccine dose, says AP, while about 105 million American adults are fully vaccinated.

Biden noted that the pace of vaccinations has been slowing and said the U.S. will soon have vaccinated those adults who were "most eager to get vaccinated," at which point he said the effort will "shift to a new phase." This phase, he said, will focus on vaccinating three groups: kids between 12 and 15 (assuming the FDA approves a vaccine for them as expected), adults who have "had trouble locating" where to get vaccinated or "just haven't gotten around to it," and adults who "need more convincing" about why it's necessary to get vaccinated.

"There's one fact I want every American to know," Biden said. "People who are not fully vaccinated can still die every day from COVID-19." Brendan Morrow