Remarks by President Biden Laying Out the Next Steps in Our Effort to Get More Americans Vaccinated and Combat the Spread of the Delta Variant
JULY 29, 2021
Location: Not determined

4:23 P.M. EDT    

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  Today, I want to talk with you about COVID-19.

Maybe the best way to start is: In a significant part of the country, you wouldn’t have to take one of these off, you don’t have to put one on — like in my home state of Delaware, where I lived in New Castle County, where I was yesterday in Pennsylvania — because people got vaccinated.  They got vaccinated.  They don’t need a mask when the majority — the vast majority of people got vaccinated. 

Now, look, I want to talk about what’s really happening — what it means, what it doesn’t mean, and what we need to do this week and the months ahead. 

From the moment I was elected, I said I’d always give it to you straight from the shoulder, and we need some straight talk right now.  Because there’s a lot of fear and misinformation in the country, and we need to cut through it with facts, with science, with the truth.

So, what’s really happening today?

After months and months of cases going down, we’re seeing a spike in COVID cases.  They’re going up.  Why?  Because of this new form, this new variant called the “Delta variant.”

This is a much different variant than the one we dealt with previously.  It’s highly transmissible, and it’s causing a new wave of cases in those who are not vaccinated.

Our experts tell me that cases will go up further
before they start to come back down.  But while cases are on the rise, they’re not — we’re not likely to see, according to experts, a comparable rise in hospitalizations or deaths in most areas of the country.

So, you have to ask yourself: Why is that?  Because 164 million Americans are fully vaccinated, including 80 percent of those most vulnerable — our seniors.

So, there’s a challenge, as we knew there could be.  But there’s also good news.

We’ve spent the last six months preparing for this possibility.  The vaccines are highly effective.  We have enough vaccine for everyone to get vaccinated.

And thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the hard work of the American people, we’ve administered over 325 million vaccination doses in the past six months.

We have the tools to prevent this new wave of COVID from shutting down our businesses, our schools, our society, as we saw happen last year.

I’ve said from the beginning that we will be guided by the science.  So here’s what the science tells us:

On Tuesday, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention — the CDC — announced its new mask recommendation in parts of the country where COVID cases are substantially high, where people didn’t get vaccinated — which they define as 50 new cases for every 100,000 people in a week.

The CDC recommends you wear a mask when you’re in public and indoors, like work or in a grocery store.  That’s true for both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.  Why?  Because even if you’ve been fully vaccinated and protected from severe illness from COVID-19, you could have the Delta variant in your system
and spread it to someone who isn’t vaccinated.  

We need to wear masks to protect each other and to stop the rapid spread of this virus as we work to get more people vaccinated.

And I hope all Americans who live in areas with substantial or high case rates will follow the mask guidance that’s being laid down by the CDC.  I certainly will.  And I have — because this is one of those areas, in Washington. 

And at my decision — at my direction, all federal personnel and visitors to federal buildings will have to do the same thing.

As I’ve said from the beginning, a mask is not a political statement; it’s about protecting yourself and protecting others.  Masking is one defense against the spread of COVID-19.

But make no mistake: Vaccines are the best defense against you getting severely ill from COVID-19 — the very best defense.

And you want to know how we put this virus behind us?   Well, I’ll tell you how: We need to get more people vaccinated.

Look, and it’s important to understand what vaccines do and what they don’t do.  Put simply, the vaccines are designed to save lives and prevent severe illness.  They’re highly effective at both. 

A hundred and ninety million Americans have had at least one shot.  Of that group, about 90 percent are done now, and 10 percent are waiting for the second shot. 

To those folks who have one shot but not the second: Go get the second shot.  Even if you’re overdue for the second shot, it is not too late.  Go get the second shot now.  Now. 

The bottom line is: If you’re fully vaccinated, you’re highly protected from COVID-19.  But I also know that many of you who are vaccinated are concerned about what’s called “breakthrough cases.”  Yes, some fully vaccinated people will still test positive, and some will show some symptoms of COVID-19.  That’s expected with almost every vaccine there is for other diseases. 

But breakthrough cases remain rare and almost all are mild cases.  In fact, virtually all hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated. 

I also know many of you are wondering if you’ll need a booster shot to add another layer of protection.  As of now, my medical advisors say the answer is no.  No American needs a booster now. 

But if the science tells us there’s a need for boosters, then that’s something we’ll do.  And we have purchased the supply — all the supply we need to be ready if that was called for.

Folks, the truth is, as more people get vaccinated, we are better protected as a nation to continue reopening safely and responsibly. 

But we are not fully out of the woods yet, because what is happening in America right now is a pandemic — a pandemic of the unvaccinated.  Let me say that again: It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated. 

There are about 90 million Americans who are eligible to get the shot but haven’t gotten it yet.  As I just mentioned, nearly all of the cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19 today are from unvaccinated people. 

Last month, a study showed that over 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths had been among the unvaccinated — 99 percent.  This is an American tragedy.  People are dying and will die who don’t have to die.  If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die. 

Read the news and you’ll see stories about unvaccinated patients in hospitals.  As they’re lying in bed, dying from COVID-19, they’re asking, “Doc, can I get the vaccine?”  And the doctors have to say, “Sorry, it’s too late.”

Right now, too many people are dying or watching someone they love dying and saying, “If I just got vaccinated, if I just…”  It’s heartbreaking.  And it’s complicated even more because it’s preventable. 

America is divided between the majority of eligible people who are vaccinated and those who are not.  And I understand that many of you in the majority are frustrated with the consequences of the failure of the minority to get vaccinated. 

But I want you to know that I’m going to continue to do everything I can to encourage the unvaccinated to get vaccinated.  That includes addressing hesitancy and misinformation head on. 

For example, I know some of you are — who are unvaccinated think, “The development of vaccine was rushed, therefore I’m not going to take a chance.  As a result, I think it’s not safe because it was rushed.”  I understand. 

But let me explain.  Our top scientists at the National Institute of Health — the NIH — and across the country got to work applying decades of research — decades of research — let me repeat that: decades — that have already been done — the research — to develop the COVID-19 vaccine when it hit.

In the last six months, more than 325 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States and billions of doses administered around the world.  The vaccine was developed and authorized under a Republican administration, and has been distributed and administered under a Democratic administration. 

The vaccines are safe, highly effective.  There’s nothing political about them.  Look at all the people who took a shot at it.  They later — we learned a lot of them have already been vaccinated.

From the start, I have to compliment Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.  He hadn’t made it political.  He’s encouraged people to get vaccinated and is continuing to do so, and his state is in pretty good shape. 

Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey recently spoke out to encourage vaccination.

And even the commentators on Fox who have been belittling this for a long time — some haven’t, but many have — are arguing, “Get vaccinated.” 

Look, this is not about red states and blue states.  It’s literally about life and death.  It’s about life and death.  That’s what it’s about. 

You know — and I know people talk about freedom.  But I learned, growing up at school and from my parents, with freedom comes responsibility.  Your decision to be unvaccinated impacts someone else. 

Unvaccinated people spread the virus.  They get sick and fill up our hospitals.  And that means if someone else has a heart attack or breaks a hip, there may not be a hospital bed for them.