National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that President Joe Biden, likely missing his stated goal of vaccinating 70% of adult Americans by July 4, was not a big deal.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “President Biden repeatedly called the 70% of American adults with at least one shot. He called it a goal. it sounds like the White House is kind of walking this goal messaging back a bit.”
Fauci said, “You know, not necessarily, Jake. You set a goal. If you reach it, great. If you don’t, you keep going to try and reach it and go beyond it. So I don’t really see any, to be honest with you, big deal here. We were trying for 70% of adults by July 4th. If you get to 67 or 68, there’s not that much statistical difference between the two, but you want to go beyond it. It was a goal, and we want to go beyond the goal. If you don’t exactly meet it on July 4th, you don’t stop. You just keep going. And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to try and get as many more than 70% as we possibly can, particularly in light of the fact that we are now getting into the summer. We want to get things back to normal. The country is really striving and craving to get back to normal, and we’re going to be very much there by the summer.”
Tapper said, “When exactly do you think the U.S. will reach the goal of 70% of adults with at least one shot?”
Fauci said, “You know, Jake, if you look at the rate now, it’s probably going to be within the first couple of weeks of July, maybe the second or third week of July.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.