According to a White House official, President Joe Biden will talk on Thursday about the progress his administration has made toward his target of bringing 100 million coronavirus vaccines into the hands of Americans during his first 100 days in office.
Before Biden’s 60th day in office, the US is on the verge of hitting the 100 million vaccine mark, which the President set as his new target during a national primetime address last week.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 113 million coronavirus doses have been administered in the US to date. Since Biden took office on January 20, more than 96 million doses have been administered.
Since a peak in mid-January, the number of daily Covid-19 cases has been steadily decreasing. However, Covid-19 cases are up more than 10% in 14 states this week compared to last week, with half of those states seeing a 20% increase. Just three states were seeing rises of 10% or more a month ago, on February 17th.
The White House is racing to prevent and prepare for a potential fourth coronavirus surge, as more transmissible coronavirus variants spread across the country. Biden’s upcoming progress report comes as the White House races to prevent and prepare for a potential fourth coronavirus surge and more transmissible coronavirus variants spread across the US.
The White House is spending billions of dollars to improve coronavirus preparedness, speeding up vaccines, and working to plan for the public and governors.
In a first, the White House is preparing plans to send vaccines to developing hotspots in an effort to slow the virus’ spread and protect those who are most vulnerable, according to two senior administration officials who spoke to CNN earlier this week.
Last week, President Obama announced a series of initiatives to increase Covid-19 vaccinations throughout the world, the most prominent of which was Vice President Biden’s pledge to guide all states to open Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults by May 1. The US will have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May, two months ahead of the administration’s timetable, according to the President.
In addition to the May 1 order, Biden said during his speech that the administration would release resources after that date to assist Americans in finding vaccine clinics. He also emphasized the importance of speeding up school reopenings and stated that the administration intends to provide further guidelines on what people can and cannot do until completely vaccinated.
Mississippi became the second state this week to make vaccinations available to all people aged 16 and up. At least five more states have announced that they intend to open vaccines to anyone 16 or older by April 5.
