July 4th celebrations in doubt

President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned Americans may not be able to celebrate July Fourth in small groups if the vaccination rate continues to drop and he pushed employers to give workers paid time off to help get them back up.

'The broad swath of American adults still remain largely unvaccinated. In a number of states, they weren't eligible for the vaccination until this week,' Biden said in a speech marking the 200 million COVID vaccine shot given during his presidency.

'Too many younger Americans may still think they don't need to get vaccinated,' he said.

'Our objective is to reach everyone, everyone over the age of 16 in America,' Biden announced.

Over half of Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine - the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots - but the distribution of shots is unequal. New Hampshire has given at least one shot to 59 per cent of its citizens while Mississippi and Alabama are at 30 percent.

133 million, or 51.5 percent, of adults have had one shot of the vaccine and 33.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. 40.5 percent of the entire US population has received at least one shot and 26.4 percent are inoculated, with the rollout yet to include children under 16.

And young adults - many of whom weren't eligible to get a dose until Monday due to their general good health, age and low risk factors - are one of the lagging age groups when it comes to getting inoculated.

Biden warned that the declining vaccination rate could affect guidelines for the upcoming Independence Day holiday. In March, Biden said the nation could see an easing of COVID restrictions to allow small group celebrations on that day.

The president noted the country remains on track to reach that goal but cautioned that could change if vaccination rates continue to decrease.

'If we let up now and stop being vigilant,' he said, 'we're never going to get back to celebrate our independence from this virus on July 4 with family and friends in small groups.'

He reminded people that the COVID vaccine is available in a large number of areas, including local pharmacies.

'If you can go into a busy by your shampoo or toothpaste, you can stop and get vaccinated. The vaccine is free. It's convenient and it's increasingly available,' he said.