These cities have reached Biden’s 70% vaccination goal — and beyond

June 11, 2021

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(WASHINGTON) — Seattle has become the first U.S. city to fully vaccinate 70% of eligible residents.

In May, President Joe Biden set a goal for 70% of U.S. adults to receive at lease one dose of the vaccine by July 4 in the sprint to end the coronavirus crisis.

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced Wednesday that Seattle went a step further and became the first “major American city” to hit that percent with fully vaccinated residents, also adding that 78% of Seattle’s population aged 12 and older have received their first dose of the shot.

“It would not have been possible without our residents’ commitment to protecting themselves, their loved ones, and our entire community,” she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Denver has crossed the milestone of administering at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of its population.

Denver passed the 70% threshold Wednesday morning, and a total of 61.2% of eligible residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment. Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a statement that thanks to the vaccination rate, “We’ve been able to responsibly reopen our city.”

El Paso, Texas has also passed the milestone, with 72% of the county’s eligible population aged 12 and up receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the state’s vaccine dashboard.

Some of the nation’s largest cities, including San Francisco, San Jose and Boston, are also racing toward the threshold.

San Francisco is one of the cities with the most robust vaccination efforts, with 69% of the population 12 and older fully vaccinated and 79% with at least one dose, according to the city’s COVID-19 tracker.

Other cities have also surpassed — or are nearing — Biden’s 70% mark.

In Santa Clara County, California, which includes the city of San Jose, 68% of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated, and 79% of residents are partially vaccinated, per county data. San Diego County has partially vaccinated 75% of its population aged 12 and up, and in Los Angeles County 64.9% of residents are partially vaccinated.

In Boston, 62.1% of the population 12 and older is partially vaccinated. In Multnomah County, Oregon, which includes Portland, 69.7% of the population 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, per county data.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday the nation’s capital is nearing the goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated — with 68.3% of residents 18 and older inoculated — as D.C. is set to fully reopen with no restrictions Friday, according to its vaccine tracker.

So far, 13 states have reached 70% of adult residents receiving at least one dose. They are: Pennsylvania, Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Washington, Maryland and California.

When it comes to states, Vermont is leading the nation in getting shots into the arms of its residents, with 54% of the state fully vaccinated, followed by Massachusetts at 53.18%, Connecticut at 51.06% and Maine at 49.83%. Rhode Island and New Hampshire follow behind, according to data from John Hopkins. That data reports Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi ranking the lowest among all states in percentage of fully vaccinated residents.

Nationally, 42.5% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and 51.8% has received at least one dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.