Biden to push for more urgency for Covid vaccinations as new variant spreads

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday will press for renewed urgency to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 as a variant of the virus is contributing to case surges in parts of the country.

Biden is expected to outline renewed efforts to get the vaccine to more primary care doctors and pediatricians to try to reach those still holding out on getting the shot along with a continued push for door-to-door vaccinations, mobile clinics and workplace vaccination events, said a White House official.

Biden was scheduled to be briefed by his public health advisors on Tuesday about the state of the vaccination effort and the pandemic, the White House said.

Areas with low vaccination rates have seen a recent increase in cases. The Delta variant, which is more transmissible and has been linked to more severe illness in younger adults, accounted for a quarter of all new cases last week and is projected to be the dominant strain in the coming weeks in the U.S., the CDC said last week.

July 6, 202103:45

Administration officials have said they are in a race against time to get as many Americans fully vaccinated before the Delta variant can take further hold. Researcher have found the available vaccines are effective against preventing severe illness and death from the new variant, but they are less effective in patients with just one dose of the vaccine.

While 67 percent of U.S. adults are at least partially vaccinated , 47 percent of the total population is fully vaccinated. And in some states, including Alabama and Mississippi, just around a third of the population is fully vaccinated.

In Missouri, where 39 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, cases have more than doubled in the past week, compared to a month ago, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The surge led to one hospital in Springfield, Missouri to temporarily run out of ventilators and open a second intensive care unit for Covid-19 patients, Erik Frederick, chief administrative officer at Mercy Springfield tweeted over the weekend.