WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says the rise of a more transmissible COVID-19 variant in the U.S. "should cause everybody to think twice."

Speaking Tuesday at the White House as he outlined his administration's summer plans to boost vaccinations, Biden said the delta variant first identified in India is now responsible for a majority of new virus cases in much of the country.

"It seems to me it should cause everybody to think twice, and it should cause reconsideration especially among young people," he said, referencing the demographic least at risk of negative outcomes from the virus.

Biden says the surest way for Americans to protect themselves and their loved ones is to get vaccinated. He said the White House was working with state and local partners to support hyper-local vaccination drives in communities with low uptake.