President Joe Biden planned a large Independence Day celebration on Sunday to mark America's victory over COVID-19, despite concerns that parts of the country with poor vaccination rates are still infected with the virus.
For the largest in-person gathering at the White House since he took office, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden host 1,000 military troops, their families, and essential workers. The president commemorates what he calls "freedom from this virus" with a fireworks show that brings thousands to the National Mall and is echoed by similar gatherings around the country.
Independence Day: Freedom from the coronavirus
With the pandemic at its summer peak and cities throughout America suffering from protests against racism and police brutality, Washington welcomed a quarter of the visitors it typically received over the Holiday season last year. However, after dominating the world in COVID-19 fatalities, which is more than 600,000, the US has emerged as a model for containing the new coronavirus, as per the NY Times.
Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House, followed by a barbeque honoring participants - a group of first responders, essential employees, and service members, many of whom will be vaccinated and will be able to go without masks according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance published in May.
According to a White House official, the president wanted to mention the more than 600,000 Americans who have died from the virus in the last 16 months during his speech. But, the official said the president also addressed the present, urging unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinations and thanking the essential workers and military families whose efforts have helped reduce new cases and fatalities by more than 90% since the pandemic's height in January.
The president began his Independence Day celebrations by attending church in his hometown Wilmington, Delaware. On Sunday morning after emerging from St. Joseph on the Brandywine, he was photographed strolling through the cemetery where his son Beau Biden is buried.
Jill Biden, who normally attends church services with her husband, was not seen with him this Sunday. Instead, she was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony in front of Independence Hall, where she spoke. Biden spends most of his weekends away from Washington in Wilmington, where he is frequently seen attending Catholic mass once or twice during his two-day visit, Daily Mail reported.
Biden played a game of golf with former Senator Ted Kaufman at Wilmington Country Club before returning to Washington, DC. Biden administration has praised its vaccine drive ahead of the holiday, insisting that celebrating July 4 in the usual manner is safe again - as long as everyone participating in the celebrations has received the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Joe Biden failed to meet his vaccination goal by July 4
However, Biden's aim of fully vaccinating 160 million Americans by the mid-summer break was not met. By July 4, 2021, he intended at least 70% of adults to have gotten at least one vaccination, a second vaccine objective that was not met.
Per WTHR, the CDC's director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said, "The suffering and loss we are now seeing is nearly entirely avoidable." When questioned about the hazards of hosting Fourth of July celebrations in areas with significant percentages of unvaccinated people, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that "if individuals get vaccinated in those areas, then they are protected."
Over the weekend, top Biden administration officials fanned out throughout the country under the banner "America's Back Together" to promote the dramatically better virus situation. According to data from the CDC, Biden had intended to get 70 percent of the adult population vaccinated by Sunday; but he only got around 67 percent. Officials claimed that the missed goal would have minimal impact on Americans' ability to observe Independence Day.
What worries them the most is the emergence of two disparate realities in the United States: the divide between fully vaccinated populations where the virus is fading out fewer regions where the new delta variant is already spreading itself. About 1,000 counties have a vaccination rate of less than 30%, and the federal government is warning that if virus restrictions relax they might become the next hot areas.
The White House is mobilizing "surge" teams to Colorado and Missouri. More teams of infectious disease specialists, public health officials, physicians, and nurses are preparing to assist in additional areas where poor vaccination rates and growing cases are present.
Overall, the greatly improved American landscape contrasts sharply with much of the rest of the globe, where large COVID-19 vaccine deserts and widespread community spread may allow even more hazardous variants to emerge. The Biden administration is increasingly focusing government resources on the difficult logistics of shipping excess vaccinations from the United States to other countries to help them combat the pandemic.
Officials are increasingly emphasizing that the consequences of disease now largely reflect the individual choices of those who are not yet vaccinated, even though COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available for months and as governments and businesses dangle an array of incentives at Americans to get a shot.
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