ToplineThe White House announced Monday that the United States has achieved its long-awaited goal to provide at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine to 70% of Americans. However, most states still have not reached the target. Many are concerned about rising Covid-19 levels as their inoculation rates slow down.Joe Biden, President-Elect, receives his second dose from Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from... Chief Nurse Executive Riccuming on January 11, 2021. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThe Key FactsAccording to The New York Times data, thirty states are below the national vaccine rate of 70% and almost a dozen still have not reached 60%. Mississippi is the leader with just half of all adults having had at least one shot. Wyoming, Louisiana and Alabama are close behind. Idaho, West Virginia, West Virginia, and Idaho have less than 55% of their residents fully vaccinated. Seven other states are still below a 60% threshold: Tennessee (55%), South Carolina (57%), North Dakota (57%), Georgia (57%), Georgia (57%), Arkansas (57%), Georgia (57%), Georgia (57%), Georgia (57%), Georgia (57%), Georgia (57%), Indiana (58%), Missouri (59%), and Missouri (59%). These states all saw an increase in hospitalizations during the past week. Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia reported the largest jumps at more than 100%. Alabama and Louisiana were almost twice that. The states farthest away from the goalMississippi and Arkansas are leading the country, with nearly a third of ICU beds being taken up by coronavirus-infected patients. Idaho, Georgia, and Alabama, however, have at least one of five ICU beds occupied. The 17 other states that are at different distances from Biden's goal include 10Florida and Kentucky.ContraAt the opposite end of the spectrum are Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, which have all partially vaccinated at minimum 80% of their residents. They have all reached a 70% complete inoculation rate (a milestone shared by Maine, New Jersey, and Maryland). These states do not have more than 10% of their ICU beds available for Covid-19.Surprising FactBiden's 2020 goal was met by 20 states: Vermont, Hawaii Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine New Mexico, New Jersey Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Washington, New Hampshire. New York. Illinois. Virginia. Delaware. Colorado. Minnesota. The political divide in vaccine rollout is evident in the fact that the states with lowest vaccination rates are almost all red. Only 3 of them were won by Trump's predecessor.Important BackgroundOriginal goal of the Biden Administration was for 70% of adults at least to receive one dose of Covid-19 vaccine before July 4. Public health officials quickly realized that this target was unlikely to be met after vaccinations fell after an April peak. Only 18 states had met Biden's goal by July 4, and 67% of the country had been partially vaccinated. In the past month, the urgent need to get vaccinated has increased due to the spread of the more dangerous Delta variant. This is causing alarming increases in hospitalizations and new cases. According to the Washington Post's tracker, the national vaccination rate has increased steadily over the past weeks from an average of just under half a million doses per day in mid-July up to 673,000 doses per day by August 2.Live updates and coverage of the Coronavirus
