Biden says number of unvaccinated Americans ‘unacceptably high,’ insists mandates ‘working’

President Biden on Thursday said the number of unvaccinated Americans still remains "unacceptably high," but insisted that his administration's vaccine requirements for the federal workforce and private employers are "working" to ensure more individuals receive shots to protect against COVID-19. 

During remarks from the White House Thursday, the president touted his administration's "progress" in the "fight against the virus." 

"We're making progress nationally. Daily cases are down 47%, hospitalizations are down 38% over the past six weeks," Biden said. "Over the past two weeks, most of the country has improved as well. Case rates are declining in 39 states and hospital rates declining in 38 states."

The president, though, said there "is still an unacceptably high number of unvaccinated people." 

"Now's not the time to let up. We have a lot more to do," the president said, adding that the U.S. is "in a very critical period as we work to turn the corner on COVID-19." 

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