Joe Biden announces vaccinations for young adults amidst concerns of delta variant

While millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered in the US, there is a growing concern about the new delta variant. As the Biden administration anticipates another possible surge of the coronavirus, they are also ramping up efforts to get more Americans vaccinated, young adults among them.

The delta variant of COVID-19 that was first identified in India, has been seen in over 20 percent of infections in the United States. The Biden administration has now increased its efforts to get young adults vaccinated against COVID-19. This also comes as the administration acknowledges that it would not meet two important vaccination goals in time.

The White House Tuesday acknowledged that Biden would not be able to meet the vaccination goal by July 4 of having 70 percent of all American adults vaccinated. However, the White House noted that the country has already reached the threshold for American adults aged 30 and older. They added that they expect to meet the threshold for adults aged 27 and older by July 4.

Another goal that Biden is set to fall short of is having 165 million adult Americans vaccinated by July 4. Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Coordinator, projected that it may take weeks to reach the goal. The US crossed 150 million adult Americans fully vaccinated Monday.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed the notion that failing to reach the July 4 goal was a failure for the administration. Nevertheless, administration officials are keen to increase the efforts in getting Americans aged 18 to 26 years old vaccinated, as they are the least likely to get a vaccine when it is available to them.

In other news, 64 Democrats have asked Biden to extend the pause of student loan payments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren called on Biden for an extension of the pause on student loan payments and interest so as not to slow down the pace of the economic recovery from the pandemic.

“The suspension of payments and interest during the pandemic has provided essential relief to borrowers and their families during this economic and public health crisis,” said the letter.