Biden’s new deadline: All adults eligible for shot by April 19
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he’s bumping uphis deadline by twoweeks for states to make all adults in the U.S. eligible for coronavirus vaccines. But even as he expressed optimism about the pace of vaccinations, he warned Americans that the nation is not yet out of the woods when it comes to the pandemic.
“Let mebe deadly earnest with you: We aren’t at the finish line. We still have a lot of work to do,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.
The president warned that “new variants of the virus are spreading and they’re moving quickly. Cases are going back up, hospitalizations are no longer declining.” He added that “the pandemic remains dangerous” and encouraged Americans to continue to wash their hands, socially distance and wear masks.
Biden added that while his administration is on schedule to meet his new goal of distributing 200 million doses of the vaccine during his first 100 days, it will still take time for enough Americans to get vaccinated to slow the spread of the virus.
But he expressed hope that his announcement, that every adult will be eligible by April 19 to sign up and get in a virtual line to be vaccinated, will help expand access and distribution of the vaccine. Some states already had begun moving up their deadlines from the original May 1 goal.
“Nomore confusing rules. No more confusing restrictions,” Biden said.
B i d e n made the announcement after visiting a COVID-19 vaccination site at Immanuel Chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. During his visit, he thanked everyone for administering the shots and for showing up to receive them.
“That’s the way to beat this,” Biden said. “Get the vaccination when you can.”
Biden also announced that 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been shot into arms since his inauguration on Jan. 20. That puts the president well on track to meet his newgoal of 200 million shots administered by his 100th day in office on April 30.
Biden’s original goal had been 100 million shots by the end of his first 100 days, but that number was reached in March.