President Joe Biden said 90% of adults in the US will be eligible for Covid-19 shots by April 19 and can get them within five miles of their home under an expanded vaccination schedule he announced Monday.
Around 40,000 pharmacies will sell the vaccine, up from 17,000, Biden said, and the US is setting up a dozen more mass vaccination sites by April 19.
“For the vast majority of adults, you don’t have to wait until May 1. You can be shot on April 19th,” Biden said during a press conference on the government’s response to Covid-19 and vaccination efforts across the country.
A few weeks ago, Biden urged states, tribes and territories to qualify all adults in the US for a vaccination by May 1 at the latest. So far, 31 states have announced that by April 19 they will open the house to all adults, according to White.
A nurse administers the Johnson & Johnson Janssen Covid-19 single-dose vaccine in a vaccine rollout for immigrants and the undocumented vaccine organized by the St. John’s Well Children’s and Family Center and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Immigrant Rights Groups on Jan. March, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Biden is pushing for 200 million Covid vaccinations to be given within his first 100 days in office. By Friday, 100 million had been given since Biden was inaugurated. That benchmark, which Biden set as his original goal, was met on his 59th day in office.
As of last week, the US vaccination pace has averaged about 2.5 million doses per day. If this rate is maintained, Biden’s $ 200 million goal would be met in about five weeks, or about April 23 – a full week before Biden would mark 100 days at the White House.
Even if the pace of vaccinations increases, cases of Covid-19 are on the rise.
According to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the US is seeing a weekly average of 63,239 new Covid-19 cases per day, up 16% from the previous week. Daily cases now grow at least 5% in 30 states and DC
On the previous Monday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the reporter. She said she was concerned that the nation was facing “impending doom” as daily Covid-19 cases rise again and threaten to send more people to the hospital.
“I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to think about the recurring feeling I have of the impending doom,” Walensky said during a press conference. “We can look forward to so much, so much promise and potential where we are and so much reason to hope, but right now I’m scared.”
During the Biden press conference, the president asked Americans to “mask” and said it was their “patriotic duty”.
“We’re making progress on vaccinations, but cases are increasing and the virus is still spreading in too many places,” he said. “That’s why I’m taking these steps today to make our American turning story, our vaccination program, even faster.”
“The progress we are making is an important testament to what we can do when we work together as Americans. We still need everyone to do their part,” he added. “We are still at a war with this deadly virus. We are strengthening our defenses, but this war is far from won. Together we have so much to offer in the last 10 weeks to be proud of.”
When asked by a reporter whether some states should suspend their reopening efforts, Biden simply said, “Yes.”
As part of Biden’s goal to vaccinate more Americans, the White House also announced a new effort to fund community organizations to provide transportation and assistance to the most vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities in the country. This builds on the $ 10 billion investment to expand access to vaccines in the hardest hit communities, the White House said.
