67 percent of adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine

Sixty-seven percent of U.S. adults have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine as of Sunday morning, fulfilling expectations that the U.S. would not meet President Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of American adults with at least one shot by July 4. 

Heading into the Sunday holiday, roughly 58 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Out of Americans as young as 12 years old, who are eligible to receive the two-dose shot from Pfizer-BioNTech, 64 percent have at least one dose, with 55 percent fully vaccinated. 

The White House acknowledged last month that the country would likely fall short of its vaccination goal.

Biden administration officials have ramped up calls for people to get vaccinated after a sharp decline in vaccinations in recent weeks and amid the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant. 

Last month, Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, identified the delta variant first recorded in India as “the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19.” 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the delta variant has now been detected in at least 98 countries, including the U.S.

The CDC said this week that the delta variant accounts for about 25 percent of all current coronavirus infections across the country. 

Studies have shown that the vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. are likely effective at protecting people against the strain, with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky saying Wednesday that fully vaccinated people are “safe” from the current variants. 

While the U.S. did not meet its overall 70 percent goal, at least 18 individual states have surpassed the threshold, with Vermont in the lead at about 85 percent of its adult population with at least one shot. 

California, a state whose a total population is nearly 40 million people, has given 75 percent of its adult population  at least one dose.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced late last month that the percentage of residents 12 and older who were at least partially vaccinated had surpassed the 70 percent milestone. 

Oregon on Friday became the 18th state to reach 70 percent, with 64 percent of residents ages 18 and older fully vaccinated. 

Last month, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters that it would take “a few extra weeks” to reach Biden’s original vaccination goal, explaining that officials must work to boost the rate of shots among 18- to 26-year-olds.

“The reality is more younger Americans have felt that COVID-19 is not something that impacts them and they’ve been less eager to get the shot,” he said at the time.