President Joe Biden will announce that vaccines will be available to every adult who wants one by May 1st. From the White House Press Release:
Make every adult in the U.S. eligible for vaccination no later than May 1. Today, in the next phase of our vaccination effort, the President will announce that he will direct states, Tribes, and territories to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine no later than May 1st. The White House COVID-19 Response Team has concluded that our accelerated vaccination efforts will enable prioritized vaccinations to be far enough along by end of April that all eligibility restrictions for vaccinations can be lifted by May 1st.
Better yet, there is a PLAN for how that will happen. That plan includes doubling the number of pharmacies offering the vaccine, getting vaccine to another 700 community health centers, double the number of federally-run vaccination sites, and deployment of 4,000 active duty troops to administer the vaccine. They will also launch a "Find a vaccine" website and an 800 number people can call, too.
Washington Post outlines other aspects of the speech.
President Biden, in his first prime-time address since taking office, is planning on Thursday night to speak to a nation still reeling from the deadly coronavirus pandemic, offering a look back on the devastating year as well as previewing what he will characterize as a coming return to some sense of normalcy, according to White House officials.
Biden views the speech as a key marker to reflect on his first 50 days in office, one that comes almost exactly a year after the nation began to shut down as a result of the pandemic and at an inflection point in his own presidency, officials said. It was last March 11 that then-President Donald Trump gave his own widely criticized Oval Office address, suspending travel from Europe while also telling Americans of the virus: “The risk is very, very low.”
The president will also mark the successful passage of the administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which Biden is scheduled to sign during a White House ceremony Friday.
Whoops, he signed it today.
The speech will begin at 8:02 PM EST. If you're here early, welcome! Get yourself a drink, some snacks and enjoy the victory lap (albeit a sober one) beginning tonight.
(Karoli Kuns contributed to this article)
