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White House to acknowledge U.S. will miss July 4 vaccination goal

22 June 2021
Dan Ackermann

The Biden administration plans to acknowledge on Tuesday it will likely miss its goal of vaccinating 70% of U.S. adults with at least one dose by July 4, NBC News first reported and Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: Despite falling short of the goal, the White House still believes most Americans will be safe to fully celebrate Independence Day, as COVID-19 cases and deaths remain at low levels throughout much of the country.

  • It's a vastly different message than this time last year, when public health officials and some governors were limiting large gatherings and pleading with the public to only host small, outdoor events for the holiday.
  • The Biden administration will be celebrating July 4 with over 1,000 members of the armed forces and front-line workers on the White House lawn.

Driving the news: During the White House COVID-19 task force meeting on Tuesday, officials are expected stress their estimates showing the U.S. is on track to hit the 70% target for those age 27 and up, once the data for the July 4 holiday weekend is in.

  • Currently, 70% of Americans 30 and above have received at least one shot.
  • Daily vaccination rates have been slowing down since April, with key pockets in the South and unvaccinated young people causing projections to be off target by a few weeks.

What they're saying: “The reality is, many younger Americans have felt like COVID-19 is not something that impacts them and have been less eager to get the shot,” Jeff Zients, the head of the White House COVID-19 response team, plans to say.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.