The Guardian: Biden warns of danger of Delta variant as US set to miss vaccination target
Joe Biden has warned that although America has Covid-19 “on the run” the latest variant is of particular concern among those who remain unvaccinated – as the president’s goal of 70% of US adults receiving at least one shot of vaccine by the Fourth of July holiday was set to fall short.
New US cases of coronavirus jumped by 10% in the past week as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads, especially where vaccination rates are low.
As of 1 July, 66.8% of US adults have received at least one dose of vaccine. A total of 54.6% of all Americans have received one or more shot.“We’re very, very close to that [government] goal,” said Iwan Barankay, a professor of business economics and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
But he added: “We need to aim for higher than 70% to get us to herd immunity. We have to think clearly about who [has] not gotten vaccinated yet and understand why … we have to think about the people who are just vehemently opposed, based on their pure convictions or how they understand the evidence and science.”
Barankay said the federal funding and supply of vaccinations was already there for communities that have low vaccination rates, but that state and local governments need to carry the torch the final stretch to persuade people, with decentralized messaging, to get the shot.
Read the full story in The Guardian.