President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is moving up the vaccine eligibility date for states to get all U.S. adults vaccinated against the coronavirus. Every adult will be eligible by April 19 to sign up and get in a virtual line to be vaccinated, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
This is an advance from the May 1 date that Biden had announced several weeks ago. Any adult, regardless of age, medical condition or occupation, will be able to access immunization.
As informed by Associated Press, Biden was making the announcement at the White House later Tuesday after a visit to a COVID-19 vaccination site at Immanuel Chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. He thanked everyone for administering the shots and for showing up to receive them.
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Psaki said Biden’s announcement on the vaccine eligibility date will make things clearer for the public. “It reduces confusion and it ensures that Americans who are not yet vaccinated, who are looking to get vaccinated, they know they are all eligible, all adults, I should say, on April 19,” she said.
According to a BBC report, the reason for this advance is the high rate of vaccination that the country is achieving. Last week has seen an average of more than three million vaccinations per day, and the weekend saw a record high of more than four million. As a reference point to note the increase, in January, half a million doses were administered daily.
The fight is not over
However, this announcement about the vaccine eligibility date does not mean that anyone will be able to obtain the shot easily, since certain distribution problems still persist. It should also be noted that the pandemic is not under control. In fact, federal authorities warn about the relaxation of measures in some states and insist on reminding people to wear masks and to keep a social distance.
The president had announced just last week that 90% of adults would be eligible for one of three approved COVID-19 vaccines by April 19, in addition to having a vaccination site within 5 miles of their home.
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