President Joe Biden blamed Americans who have not been vaccinated for slowing down the U.S. economy's recovery. He also accused some elected officials of trying to undermine his administration's efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden's remarks came just hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved distribution of BioNTech and Pfizer's booster shots for approximately 60 million Americans. Biden addressed the nation and stated that "the vast majority of Americans do the right thing." He noted that three-quarters of eligible people have received at least one shot. Biden criticized the 70 million people still waiting to get vaccinated. "And to make matters worse there are elected officials who actively work to undermine the fight against Covid-19 with false information. This is completely unacceptable.
After a series of disappointing economic reports, economists expect lower expectations for the second half of the year. According to Dow Jones economists, the U.S. economy only added 235,000 jobs in August. This is well below expectations of a 720,000 increase. The Federal Reserve predicted that 2021 GDP would rise at 5.9% annually, a decrease from its previous forecast of 7.7%.
