Highlights:
- Biden confirmed on Tuesday that by April 19, all adults in the United States would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Approximately 32% of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose and almost 19% are fully vaccinated.
- In his first 100 days in office, Biden aims to administer 200 million shots.
President Joe Biden revealed on Tuesday that all American adults would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 19, but cautioned that with new virus variants spreading, “we’re still in a life-and-death race” with the coronavirus.
Biden instructed states to extend vaccination eligibility to people aged 18 and up by April 19, two weeks earlier than the May 1 deadline he had previously declared. No COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 16 has been approved as of now, however research is underway. Most states in the United States have already stated that they would make vaccines available to all adults by the new deadline.
By April 19, every adult will be eligible to be vaccinated.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 6, 2021
At a White House event, Joe Biden said, “What we do now will decide how many lives we will save or lose in the months of April, May, and June before we get to July Fourth.”
Biden said that more than 80% of teachers and school employees have received at least one vaccine injection, but that coronavirus strains are circulating and causing an increase in cases.
Despite the progress we’re making as a nation, I want every American to know in no uncertain terms that the fight against COVID-19 isn’t over. pic.twitter.com/gZTkXC7czX
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 6, 2021
He announced that by April 19, every adult aged 18 and up would be eligible for vaccination.
Biden’s announcement, according to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, “confirmed for the public that everyone is qualified across the country.”
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This means that Americans would no longer need to search state and local websites to see whether they qualify, according to her.
As more infectious virus variants circulate, vaccine availability and efficiency in getting shots into arms have improved dramatically in the race to get more people inoculated.
Joe Biden spoke after visiting a vaccination spot at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia.
On Twitter, Ron Klain, White House chief of staff wrote, “Governors – Democrats and Republicans – are working with (the White House COVID-19 response team) to accelerate the vaccination programme.”
When vaccine doses were in short supply, states restricted distribution to high-risk populations including the elderly and front-line healthcare staff, and then eventually expanded vaccine availability to other age and at-risk groups.
This afternoon, I stopped by a vaccination clinic at the Virginia Theological Seminary. It’s an example of the kind of partnerships we’re seeing around the country — people coming together across different faiths to serve those most in need. It’s America at its best. pic.twitter.com/iiT8r1OVnp
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 7, 2021
Biden set a target of delivering 100 million shots into people’s arms within his first 100 days in office, which he hopes to achieve by the end of April. Since then, the target has been set to 200 million.
COVID-19 has infected over 555,000 people in the United States, making it the world’s highest Covid-19 death toll. However, the nation has distributed over 167 million vaccine doses. Four out of ten Americans have received at least one vaccine dose, far above the average in most other nations.
The vaccines that have been authorised are from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech and both require two doses, whereas Johnson & Johnson’s is a one-shot vaccine. Adults aged 18 and up can receive the Pfizer vaccine, while adults aged 16 and up can receive the other two.
The United States Vaccination drive began haltingly under Joe Biden`s predecessor, Donald Trump.
