Biden: U.S. to hit goal of 100 million doses Friday
The winter landscape in Bristol, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
U.S. President Joe Biden said a major COVID-19 vaccination goal of his administration would be reached on Friday much earlier than initially expected.
At a press briefing Thursday, Biden confirmed that's the day the administration would beat its goal of delivering 100 million vaccine doses to Americans in his first 100 days in office. Friday is just two months into the president's first term.
Biden noted this milestone was close at hand during a televised address last week. On Thursday, he said several key steps, taken shortly after he took office, enabled this to happen. They included expediting critical materials for vaccine production, working with vaccine manufacturers to speed up delivery of millions more doses, and brokering a historic manufacturing partnership between competing companies.
"These steps put us on track to have enough vaccines, enough vaccine supply, for every adult American by the end of May — months earlier than anyone expected," Biden said.
He added that eight weeks ago, 8% of American seniors had been vaccinated — today, 65% of Americans age 65 or older have received at least one shot. The amount of vaccine doses going to states has doubled, and the U.S. has gone from delivering 1 million vaccinations per day, to an average of 2.5 million, Biden said.
The administration has put a particular focus on supplying vaccine doses to community health clinics. Biden said that's to help those who've been hardest-hit by the pandemic, especially Black, Latino, Native-American and rural communities.
"This is really important, because we believe speed and efficiency must be matched with fairness and equity," he said.
Going forward, Biden encouraged Americans to continue to follow public health guidelines, including wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands often.
"If we keep our guard up, stick together and stick with the science, we can look forward to a Fourth of July that feels a bit more normal, with small groups able to gather for cookouts in backyards."
To get to that point, Biden said, there was more work to do, and the COVID-19 relief bill being implemented will help, as it provides more funding for community vaccination centers and testing. States are also expected to get increasing amounts of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the coming weeks.
Biden has directed states to make all adults vaccine-eligible by May 1, and some states have announced they can do so, including Vermont, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and North Carolina.
— Gareth Henderson
