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Today during a White House press briefing, Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 coordinator, said 180 million Americans now have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, MD, reassured the country that the three vaccines with emergency use authorization in the United States are likely effective against the Delta (B1617.2) variant. "Going into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Americans have good reason to celebrate," Zients said, explaining that 67% of adults have at least one shot, 3% short of President Joe Biden's goal of 70% of Americans ages 18 and up having at least one dose. (Soucheray, 7/1)

All the free beer, doughnuts and baseball tickets won’t be enough to keep up the pace of vaccinations. President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one shot in the arms of 70% of U.S. adults before the Fourth of July holiday is set to fall short. At the current pace of vaccinations administered, about 67% of adults will be at least partially vaccinated by then, according to a CNBC analysis of CDC data. (Dickler, 7/1)

Florida is not going to match President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating at least 70 percent of all U.S. adults by July Fourth. So far, about 64 percent of those over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the country as a whole is coming close to meeting Biden’s updated goal of vaccinating 70 percent of adults 27 and older by the end of the holiday weekend, Florida has a ways to go. (Marlow, 7/1)

Los Angeles County’s top public health official expressed growing alarm about increasing circulation of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, particularly as the region grapples with an uptick in new infections. While the situation in the nation’s most populous county is nowhere near as dire as over the fall and winter, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the increases seen recently are nevertheless concerning — and are at the heart of this week’s recommendation that even residents vaccinated for COVID-19 should resume wearing face coverings in public indoor settings as a precaution. (Money and Lin II, 7/1)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky issued her gravest warning yet Thursday about the highly contagious Delta variant, which has driven a sharp increase in new Covid-19 cases across the country. Nearly 25 percent of new infections have been linked to Delta, she said, up from 6 percent in early June. (Banco, Cancryn and Goldberg, 7/1)

New cases of COVID-19 are on the rise compared to last week as the delta variant spreads throughout the U.S., health officials said Thursday. The weekly average of new daily cases was 10% higher, even though cases were down 95% from the nation's peak in January, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a briefing. The delta variant, which is thought to be more contagious, is the second-most prevalent variant circulating in the U.S. and is expected to become the most common "in the coming weeks," Walensky said. (Aspegren and Hauck, 7/1)

For the second day in a row, Arkansas reported Thursday its biggest one-day spike in four months of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, an increase officials have blamed on the delta variant of the virus. The state reported 700 new virus cases, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 350,085. The state’s active cases, meaning those that don’t include people who have recovered or died from the virus, increased by 496 to 4,199. (7/1)

The highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus appears to be gaining strength across Iowa, according to test results from the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory. In each of the past two weeks, the delta variant accounted for more than half of positive coronavirus tests from Iowa that included variants of the virus, the Iowa Department of Public Health said. The variant, first discovered in India, was confirmed to have arrived in Iowa on May 4. (Leys and Coltrain, 7/1)

New coronavirus cases have jumped more than 20% in California and the Bay Area since the state’s June 15 reopening — a sign that even as residents embrace a return to normalcy, the virus can still spread among unvaccinated people and will likely linger for months to come. Statewide, new cases crept up from about 900 on June 15 to nearly 1,100 on June 30, according to seven-day averages of new daily infections. In the Bay Area, cases ticked up from 187 to 225 during the same period, according to Chronicle data. (Ho, 7/1)

Nevada will ask for more federal assistance to combat increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, stagnating vaccination rates and a growing threat from the delta variant, particularly in the Las Vegas region, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced late Thursday. Specifically, the governor said the state would seek help with outreach efforts to increase vaccination rates in Clark County. “We must continue to leverage resources at the federal, state and local level to increase access and confidence and get as many Nevadans protected from this deadly virus as possible,” Sisolak said in a news release. (Hynes, 7/1)

Health officials for St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jefferson County are recommending that all residents, regardless of vaccine status, wear a mask during indoor gatherings as the more infectious and dangerous delta variant takes hold across Missouri. “For vaccinated individuals, the health departments advise residents to wear masks or other face coverings whenever they are indoors with other people whose vaccination status is unknown,” the St. Louis and St. Louis County health departments said Thursday about their joint health advisory. Jefferson County also on Thursday released a similar advisory. (Munz, 7/1)

If you're thinking about shooting your gun in the air to celebrate this July Fourth, police have some advice: Don't. "Shooting a gun into the air is not only reckless, but it's extremely, extremely dangerous," Sgt. Michael Wood, spokesperson for Indiana State Police, said. While it can be easy to adopt the "out of sight, out of mind" attitude toward shooting a gun in the air, bullets are not exempt from the laws of gravity. "What goes up must come down," Sgt. Shane Foley, spokesperson for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said. (Rafford, 7/1)

For many, last year’s Fourth of July didn't go quite as planned. Countless families were forced to modify their usual celebrations because of the pandemic. But this year, things are different. With COVID restrictions being lifted, including in Indiana, Hoosiers are ready to celebrate this holiday season pre-pandemic style. That means family barbecues, fireworks and the usual festivities. (Vilfranc, 7/1)