White House hits 70% vaccination goal nearly month later

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The White House announced a milestone Monday with 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Biden administration had initially set out to reach the goal by July 4. 

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White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar took to Twitter to announce the news Monday, writing: "Milestone Monday just in: Today we hit 70% of adults w/ at least one dose! +468K doses reported administered, incl. 320K newly vaccinated (vs. 257K last Monday). 7-day average of newly vaccinated highest since July 4. Let's continue working to get more eligible vaccinated!"

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President Biden also took to Twitter Monday, calling the milestone "incredible progress."

"Folks, we’ve officially reached our goal of 70% of adults receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. It’s incredible progress, but we still have further to go. If you haven’t already, get vaccinated. Let’s defeat this virus once and for all," Biden wrote.

The milestone comes as the country's vaccination pace has significantly slowed and infections are rising across the U.S., largely due to the highly transmissible delta variant said to account for over 83% of sequenced samples. The variant recently sparked a reversal in federal health guidance after data suggested fully vaccinated individuals could pass on the virus to others.

Some states have adopted the latest mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), like Illinois and Nevada -- now advising fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks in public indoor areas in places with high and substantial viral spread. Other states, like New York, have moved to implement vaccine mandates or weekly testing for state workers to limit risk to patients.