Biden aims to have 70% of U.S. adults receive first vaccine shot by July 4th

Yahoo Finance’s Jessica Smith reports the latest details on Biden’s pandemic recovery goals.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: President Biden has a new goal, and that's to get almost 3/4 of all American adults vaccinated by Independence Day. We have Yahoo Finance's chief political correspondent Jessica Smith here with those details. Hi, Jess.

JESSICA SMITH: Hey, Kristin. We are expecting to hear from President Biden in the next few minutes as he outlines his new goal and the steps he is going to take to get there. The goal, again, is to get 70% of US adults with at least one shot by July 4th. And the administration is doing several things to make that happen.

First, they say they're going to direct tens of thousands of pharmacies to start offering walk-in appointments. The goal is to make it easier for people to get their shots. FEMA will also start offering and supporting pop-up vaccination sites, smaller community vaccination sites, and mobile clinics. Again, the goal is just to make this more convenient for people.

The administration is also going to send more vaccines directly to rural health clinics and increase education and outreach efforts in those areas. And they're going to try and beef up education and outreach more broadly. There will be new funding for local organizations to hire workers from vulnerable communities and help people by answering their questions about the vaccines, trying to boost confidence in the vaccines. And then those workers will also be able to help set up appointments or transportations for people to go to those appointments.

And then, finally, the administration is also launching a plan to get adolescents vaccinated, if and when 12 to 15-year-olds are eligible for the vaccine. They say the goal would be to get them fully vaccinated by the time school starts in the fall. But again, that's if and when the vaccine is approved for that age group. And again, the new goal, 70% of US adults with at least one shot by July 4th. We should hear from the president in just a few minutes. Kristin and Alexis.

KRISTIN MYERS: All right, thanks so much to our chief political correspondent Jessica Smith with bringing us those details. Another ambitious goal indeed, although, remember, President Biden's previous goals have definitely been met.