Biden Overstated U.S. Vaccination Count
The Claim
President Biden more than doubled his goal of vaccinating 100 million people.
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Emerging story
Upon taking office, Biden announced a series of goals for his first 100 days. One such goal was to ensure that at least 100 million Americans were fully vaccinated. On May 3rd, President Biden gave a speech in which he proudly stated that we had reached 230 million, far exceeding his expectations.
Social media users discussed the figure, including some politicians.
Misbar’s Analysis
U.S. vaccinations haven't hit Biden’s numbers yet, but they have exceeded his initial goal. According to the CDC, as of May 6th, 103 million people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated. 150 million have received their first dose, and we have administered about 250 million vaccines, which may have been the number that the president was referring to.
250 million doses “administered” doesn’t mean that patients have received them. Rather, it means that someone has been scheduled to be fully vaccinated. For example, someone who has received their first shot but is still awaiting their second counts as having been administered a dose. It may be worth noting that “vaccines delivered” refers to a vaccine being physically delivered to a vaccination facility. Regardless, while Biden has surpassed his goal, he didn’t do so by the 2.6 million figure he cited.
