Although most media coverage suggests that reaching President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 is unlikely, not everyone is pessimistic.
COVID-19 vaccinations have reached the lowest point since their peak on April 11, when the seven-day average of vaccines administered reached over 3.3 million. That has fallen to about 1.1 million vaccinations in recent days, a drop of almost two-thirds. According to one report, that decline has turned the “immunization campaign into a marathon, threatening President Biden’s goal of getting shots to at least 70 percent of adults by July 4.”
Last week, the Biden administration announced a “National Month of Action” to boost the vaccination pace.
That has Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director at the American Public Health Association, hopeful.
“I’m highly optimistic, but it will be tight,” Benjamin said. “The administration has revved up advocacy, public health, and other groups for this next month. If that revs up to the capacity that we know exists, that’s where you’ll see my optimism.”
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Benjamin said his organization would activate its members to join other groups locally to engage in vaccination drives and inform people about the importance of getting their jabs. It will also use its nearly 1 million social media followers to both inform people on the importance of vaccination and where they can get a shot.
Biden administration officials hosted a conference call on Friday with advocacy, public health, and other organizations to enlist their help to boost the vaccination rate over the next month.
At present, 63.7% of adults have gotten at least one dose of the three approved vaccines in the United States. A rough analysis by the Washington Examiner finds that about 472,000 adults are getting their first vaccine daily. At that rate, about 68% of adults would be at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
The administration appears to be pulling out all the stops for the National Month of Action. This includes a national vaccination tour by Vice President Kamala Harris, a national advertising blitz, enlistment of child care providers to offer free child care for parents seeking the vaccine, and a competition for mayors to see which city can boost its vaccination rate the most by July 4.
With enough support from outside groups, the administration could reach its 70% goal on time if their efforts are effective.
But others are skeptical.
“It’s unlikely that we are going to hit the goal by July 4,” said Susan Hassig, an epidemiology professor at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “There just isn’t that much time left. And uptake of vaccines has slowed dramatically.”
The slowdown has come despite recent efforts of private businesses and state and local governments to incentivize vaccination. Anheuser-Busch has offered all adults a free beer if Biden’s goal is reached, while Krispy Kreme offers a free doughnut to anyone who shows a COVID-19 vaccination card.
Meanwhile, the city of Philadelphia is offering prizes to people who get vaccinated, including the chance to be entered into a lottery for $50,000.
That follows on the heels of the state of Ohio, which on May 13 offered people who have been inoculated a chance to win one of five $1 million prizes. In the week following the announcement, the Ohio Department of Health announced a 44% increase in vaccination among those ages 16 and older. But the increase in the second week was a much smaller 12%.
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If million-dollar prizes provide a limited incentive to get a vaccine, then any national mobilization campaign likely faces an uphill climb.
