Biden: 300M Vaccines in 150 Days       06/19 08:36

   President Joe Biden took a cautious victory lap Friday in his quest to bring 
the COVID-19 pandemic under control, announcing that 300 million vaccine shots 
have been administered in the 150 days since he took office.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden took a cautious victory lap Friday in 
his quest to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control, announcing that 300 
million vaccine shots have been administered in the 150 days since he took 
office.

   Biden credited scientists, companies, the American people and his 
whole-of-government effort. The president noted that the widespread vaccination 
campaign had set the stage for most Americans to have a relatively normal 
summer as businesses reopen and employers hire.

   "We're heading into a very different summer compared to last year," the 
president said. "A bright summer. Prayerfully, a summer of joy."

   But as Biden marks one milestone, he is in danger of failing to meet 
another: his target to have 70% of American adults at least partially 
vaccinated by July Fourth, in a little over two weeks.

   Overall, about 168 million American adults, or 65.1% of the U.S. population 
18 years and older, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as 
of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

   The pace of new vaccinations in the U.S. has dropped significantly from a 
high of nearly 2 million per day about two months ago, jeopardizing Biden's 
ability to hit the 70% mark.

   The White House said its whole-of-government approach to the vaccination 
effort has put the virus in retreat, which in turn has brought COVID-19 cases, 
hospitalizations and deaths to their lowest levels in more than a year. But 
Biden noted in his remarks that some communities in states with lower 
vaccination rates are seeing cases and hospitalizations increase.

   The administration is in the middle of a monthlong blitz to combat vaccine 
hesitancy and the lack of urgency some people feel to get the shots, 
particularly in the South and Midwest.

   CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that she expects the delta 
variant of the coronavirus will become the dominant strain in the U.S. That 
strain has become dominant in Britain after it was first detected in India.

   During an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," she told Americans who 
get their shots that "you'll be protected against this delta variant."

   As part of the administration's vaccination push, Vice President Kamala 
Harris traveled to Atlanta on Friday to tour a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site 
at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor until 
his assassination in 1968. The current senior pastor is U.S. Sen. Raphael 
Warnock.

   Harris also spoke at a COVID-19 vaccination mobilization event at Clark 
Atlanta University, a historically Black school. She told students they "have 
the power to end this pandemic" by giving people information about the 
multitude of resources, such as free car rides and child care, that are 
available to help them get vaccinated.

   In Fulton County, Georgia, where Atlanta is located, 49% of residents have 
received at least one shot. Statewide, it is 42%, Harris said.

   "Getting vaccinated is about building the power of community," she said. 
"Getting vaccinated is about building the power of our country."

   The Biden administration insists that even if the 70% vaccination goal is 
unmet, it will have little effect on the overall U.S. recovery, which is 
already ahead of where Biden said it would be months ago.

   Biden wants to celebrate Independence Day as a "summer of freedom" from the 
virus.

   Earlier this week, the White House announced plans to host first responders, 
essential workers and service members and their families on the South Lawn for 
a cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall.

   More than 1,000 guests are expected for what will be one of the largest 
events of Biden's presidency.-