US hits 300 million COVID-19 vaccine shots, but will it reach July 4 goal?

By Brittany Roston/June 19, 2021 9:45 am EST

In a tweet this week, President Biden announced that the US has hit (and surpassed) its latest COVID-19 vaccine milestone: 300 million shots have been administered during the president's first 150 days in office. More than 65-percent of adults in the US have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, with more than 55-percent fully vaccinated. However, some remain skeptical over whether the US will reach Biden's July 4 vaccination goal.

The US CDC maintains a COVID-19 data tracker, including a report on the nation's vaccination progress at any given time. As of Friday, 53.1-percent of the total US population, including kids ages 12 and older, had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A bit more than 317 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered with thousands more delivered and ready to administer.

Today, we've passed 300 million shots in 150 days.
When I took office, our nation was in crisis. Today, the virus is in retreat and our economy has smashed previous records for job growth.

That's just four months, folks.

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 18, 2021

As with past milestones, President Biden took to his Twitter account to note the latest milestone, having ultimately exceeded his original goal substantially while nearing his latest goal: vaccinating 70-percent of adults with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by Independence Day.

More than 65-percent of US adults have already received at least one COVID-19 dose and there are just over two weeks left before July 4. There's a chance the US will be able to tack another 5-percent of adults onto its vaccination numbers, achieving the goal, but the administration could end up missing the date by a matter of days.

Regardless, it looks likely that the US will soon achieve a 70-percent vaccination rate, assuming you count those who receive at least one dose. A growing body of research points toward a single COVID-19 shot offering substantial protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to those who haven't received any shots.