US hits President Joe Biden's goal of 70% vaccination rate amid delta variant surge

President Joe Biden had set a vaccination goal of 70 per cent by July 4. That figure was the low end of initial government estimates for what would be necessary to achieve herd immunity in the US But that has been rendered insufficient by the highly contagious delta variant, which has enabled the virus to come storming back.

Washington: The US has finally reached President Joe Biden's goal of getting at least one COVID-19 shot into 70 per cent of American adults- a month late and amid a fierce surge by the delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country. In a major retreat in the Deep South, Louisiana ordered nearly everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear masks again in all indoor public settings, including schools and colleges. And other cities and states likewise moved to reinstate precautions to counter a crisis blamed on the fast-spreading variant and stubborn resistance to getting the vaccine. "As quickly as we can discharge them they're coming in and they're coming in very sick. We started seeing entire families come down," lamented Dr Sergio Segarra, chief medical officer of Baptist Hospital Miami. The Florida medical-center chain reported an increase of over 140 per cent in the past two weeks in the number of people now hospitalised with the virus.