A shot at a more normal summer
President Biden’s order to make vaccines widely available across the country serves as a startling reminder that we have a White House willing to take responsibility for a national crisis. Issued in a primetime address that framed the challenge in terms of patriotism and hope — including for the prospect of a somewhat normal Fourth of July — it came on the eve of the administration of the nation’s 100 millionth vaccine dose, illustrating the efficacy and rewards of a newly sentient national government.
Biden directed states to make vaccines available to all adults as of May 1, a healthy corrective to the shifting and proliferating eligibility criteria in some states. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in California, which at various points has prioritized health care and emergency personnel, older people, food and agricultural workers, teachers and school staff, and residents of predominantly disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Despite the presumably good intentions of the multilayered rules, it’s not clear that they’ve done more good than harm. The state has worked its way up to a middling vaccination rate
but struggled to administer the doses it has at even an average pace. And despite efforts to target vulnerable groups and educators, the state continues to suffer from stark vaccination inequities and is saddled with more shuttered schools than any other.
Some of the states that have been most successful in administering vaccines, meanwhile, have made them broadly available. Alaska has already begun offering shots to anyone 16 and over, while West Virginia is offering them to those 50 and older.
Biden’s directive reflects the gathering pace of vaccinations, which topped 100 million doses administered as of
Friday, meaning 66 million Americans have received at least one shot. About 80 million of those doses have been delivered under the current president, who promised to deliver 100 million in his first 100 days, a goal he is expected to reach in less than 60.
Having recently announced an order of 100 million more vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson, bringing the total doses expected from three manufacturers to 800 million, Biden also projected that any American who wants to be inoculated will be able to do so by the end of May, hence the possibility of more proper Independence Day festivities.
That goal invokes the hope inherent in the accelerating vaccination program and the sense of national purpose that should motivate all of us to do our part and get our shots as soon as we can. It also advises appropriate caution in not doffing our masks or getting together until enough doses
have been delivered and administered to make it safe to do so. Competent leadership should encourage us that the distance to that celebratory day is getting shorter.