DALLAS (AP) – Jill Biden played on the offensive line in the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday and teamed up with NFL Hall of Famer running back Emmit Smith to encourage Texans to get vaccinated against it. disease.
“Today we are finally recovering what we lost. But while we have come a long way, we are not done yet, ”the First Lady said in a brief message after visiting an interim vaccination center at Emmett J. Conrad High School.
She was joined by former Dallas Cowboys player Smith, who made the same point with a soccer metaphor.
“We are in the fourth period and there is still a long way to go before the game is over,” Smith said.
The first lady traveled to Texas as part of President Joe Biden’s vaccination campaign to inoculate the largest number of Americans against COVID-19 due to growing concern about the spread of a more contagious form of coronavirus called the delta variant.
President Biden set a goal of vaccinating 70% of adults before Sunday, July 4, when he plans to celebrate the independence of the United States from the virus in the White House.
Although the government has admitted that the president’s goal will not be met, the White House, first lady, vice president and her husband will continue to travel the country encouraging the undecided to get involved.
Nationwide, 66% of adults have already received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In Texas, fewer than 50% of people 12 and older, who are targeted for vaccination in high school, are protected against the disease, according to state figures on COVID-19 and the CDC website.
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