AP FACT CHECK: Biden is off on his vaccine claims
President Joe Biden isn't getting the U.S. vaccine record quite right
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden misstated the record Thursday when he asserted that half of his country has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and when he suggested that the U.S. leads the world in protecting its population with the shots.
BIDEN: “Now, 50% of all of America, more than in any other country, is fully vaccinated.” — remarks in Cleveland
THE FACTS: No, half the U.S. population has not been fully vaccinated. What’s true is that half of the population has received at least one shot, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Also true: Just over half the population aged 18 and above is fully vaccinated.
But of the total population, only 40% have full immunity from the shots, not 50%.
As for how the U.S. stacks up internationally, he would have been right to say more people have been fully vaccinated in the U.S. than in any other country. The U.S. has fully vaccinated about 133 million people, well ahead of runners-up India (about 42 million) and Britain (about 24 million).
But with 40% immunity from the vaccines, the U.S. lags a half dozen other member states of the United Nations in protecting its people with shots.
Israel, for example, has fully vaccinated almost 60% of its population. Chile is just ahead of the United States on this front. The U.S. leads among world superpowers, but not worldwide.
___
Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Hope Yen contributed to this report.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.
___
Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck
Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck