Americans celebrated their Independence Day by exhibiting some signs of “normality” after months of restrictions due to the pandemic, although without reaching the goal set by President Joe Biden that 70% of adults had already received at least one dose. of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On the occasion of July 4, Biden led the first major event since his arrival at the White House: a barbecue with about 1,000 attendees that will have essential workers, military personnel and their families as main guests, who will later enjoy the traditional fire show. artificial.
During the long weekend, the president, the first lady, Jill Biden, and the vice president Kamala Harris have participated in activities in different parts of the country with the message “America’s Back Together”.
The objective: to highlight that the figures of the pandemic have begun to remit and promote vaccination in the face of the appearance of new cases associated with the “hypercontagious” Delta variant.
BIDEN IMAGE
A poll released by The Washington Post and ABC News revealed that 62% of Americans rated Biden positively for handling the pandemic.
It did not achieve the same results on issues such as migration – where it was only approved by 33% – and its strategy against crime, which received the support of only 38%.
The survey showed that only 60% of those surveyed said they had received at least one dose and among those who have not yet been immunized, 74% considered it “unlikely” that an injection would be given.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that 47.3% of the population (156.9 million people) is fully vaccinated and 54.9% (182.1 million) have received the first dose.
These percentages rise to 58.1% with a complete vaccination and 67% with an injection among the population over 18 years of age.
“We are dealing with a historical situation with this pandemic and we have the tools to counteract it,” the main epidemiologist of the US Government, Anthony Fauci, told NBC News on Sunday.
The official called on the population to leave the “differences” and get vaccinated to avoid “preventable” deaths.
The CDC estimates that the delta variant, first detected in India, currently accounts for 25% of new COVID-19 cases in the country, which has already exceeded 600,000 deaths from the virus.
Fauci cautioned that this mutation “is clearly more transmissible” and noted that it “appears to be more lethal.”
TRAVEL AND CELEBRATIONS
Despite fears over the Delta variant, travel is anticipated to far exceed 2020 figures this year, when July 4 was overshadowed by measures to contain the pandemic.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) has estimated that more than 47.7 million people will mobilize to enjoy the holiday bridge.
The figure is 40% more than on Independence Day 2020 and is only 2.5% lower than 2019, when travelers totaled a record 48.9 million.
According to the specialized portal GasBuddy, the demand for gasoline closed this week with an increase of 4.6%, the “highest” percentage since August 2019. Fuel prices have also set records.
The personal finance portal WalletHub revealed, according to a recent survey, that 36% of Americans will spend more money this July 4 compared to the same date the previous year.
In addition, Americans said they were willing to spend 1.4 billion dollars on beer and wine during this party, in which about 150 million hot dogs are consumed in the country, WalletHub added.
–
