President Biden set a July 4 goal of “getting closer to normal” by reopening the country in his first prime-time speech on Thursday night. To achieve this goal, Mr. Biden said he would direct all states to make all American adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.
“It will make this Independence Day truly special – where we not only mark independence as a nation, but also our independence from this virus,” said Biden. But to achieve that goal, he said, “I need every American to do their part.”
As more people are fully vaccinated, Mr. Biden said that the Centers for Disease Control would update their guidelines on activities such as travel and participation in religious services. The Biden administration has been criticized by some for providing limited guidance so far to fully vaccinated people.
Biden also said that his government is on track to achieve 2 million shots a day and achieve its original target of 100 million shots in its 60th day in office, just 10 days from now.
“No other country in the world has done that. None,” he said of the US vaccination rate.
Overall, Biden tried to send a message of unity as the Americans enter the second year of the pandemic. He gave a solemn tone at the beginning of the speech, announcing that he was celebrating the one-year anniversary of when “everything turned off”.
“A collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, a year full of loss of life and loss of life for all of us,” said Biden. He told Americans that he keeps a card in his pocket with the current total of Americans who died of COVID.
Today, he said, that number is 527,726.
MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images