U.S. hits 70 percent Covid vaccination goal — a month later than Biden had hoped to

Seventy percent of American adults have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, officials said Monday, reaching a goal President Joe Biden had hoped to reach a month ago.

Biden had said he wanted to hit that mark by July 4.

The goal was ambitious, but Monday’s development is a good step, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“We’ve said from the beginning: Even when we set this goal, our work would not be done even when we reached it, and so we’re forging ahead,” she said.

As of Monday, more than 180.7 million people in the U.S. ages 18 or older, or 70 percent, have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those 12 years or older, the percentage is 67.6 percent. Younger children than that are not eligible to be vaccinated. A Food and Drug Administration official has said emergency use authorization for younger children could come by early to mid-winter.