White House offers new tax credit to help spur vaccinations

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new employer tax credits and other steps to encourage people reluctant to be inoculated to get the COVID-19 vaccine as his administration tries to overcome diminishing demand. The moves came as Biden celebrated reaching his latest goal of administering 200 million coronavirus doses in his first 100 days in office.

With more than 50% of adults at least partially vaccinated and roughly 28 million vaccine doses being delivered each week, demand has eclipsed supply as the constraining factor to vaccinations in much of the country.

In a White House speech Wednesday, Biden acknowledged a “new phase” in the federal vaccination effort that relies on increased outreach to Americans to get their shots to protect both them and their communities.

“Vaccines can save your own life, but they can also save your grandmother’s life, your co-worker’s life, the grocery store clerk or the delivery person helping you and your neighbors get through the crisis,” Biden said. “That’s why you should get vaccinated.”

Over the past week, the pace of inoculation in the U.S. has slowed slightly. That is partly a reflection of disruptions from the “pause” in use of the Johnson & Johnson shot for a safety review, but also of softening interest in vaccines, even as eligibility has been opened to all those older than 16.

As the vaccination program progresses, the administration believes it will only get more difficult to sustain the current pace of about 3 million shots per day. Roughly 130 million Americans have yet to receive one dose.

Surveys have shown that vaccine hesitancy has declined since the rollout of the shots, but officials believe they have to make getting vaccinated easier and more appealing, particularly for younger Americans less at risk from the virus who do not feel the same urgency to get a shot.