Credit: PA Internet News Service
President Joe Biden set a bold goal of having 70 percent of all adults vaccinated for COVID-19 by the July 4th holiday.
However, with just days to go, Bucks County is not likely to meet that goal.
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Bucks County has 63 percent of adults 18-plus vaccinated, according to federal data.
America’s vaccination rate for adults is about 66 percent, but some states, like Vermont and Massachusetts, have already met the president’s goal.
The Associated Press reported last week that government officials thought the goal was attainable, but higher-than-expect vaccine hesitancy came to be an issue.
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The failure to meet the federal goal comes as Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for those who are vaccinated ended on Monday morning.
Let’s take a look at the bigger picture of vaccination rates.
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Data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Sunday showed 49.1 percent of state residents ages 12 and above are fully vaccinated and 61 percent had received at least one dose. In Bucks County, 50.1 percent of people ages 12 and above were fully vaccinated and 62.4 percent had at least one dose.
In the county and the state, more women are vaccinated than men.
Nationally, 54 percent of the U.S. population eligible for vaccination received at least one dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The Bucks County Health Department, pharmacies, and medical facilities continue to offer the COVID-19 vaccines at no cost. The three approved vaccines have been proven overwhelmingly safe and extremely effective.
The county health department has begun pop-up vaccination clinics in an effort get more doses in arms.
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Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia urged residents to get vaccinated.
“People will say they will do anything to help their community or protect our country. Well, this is it,” she said. “Step up and get a vaccine. No excuses; no delays. This really is the most important thing you can do today … and possibly for many years to come.”
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