President Biden’s “war effort” goal of vaccinating 100 million people against COVID-19 in 100 days is based on a daily average that has been repeatedly exceeded by former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s first full day in office on Thursday saw 1.3 million Americans vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
But the same figures show that 1.3 million shots were fired on January 11 and 1.1 million on January 14 and 16.
Vaccinations also reached a record high, 1.6 million on Wednesday, when Biden took office, according to the data.
Since taking office on Wednesday, the new commander-in-chief and his spokesman have been repeatedly pressured by reporters to see if he is setting his immunization target too low.
During a press conference on Friday at the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki was reminded that before Trump stepped down, the average number of vaccinations last week was 912,497 – just below Biden’s target.
“Given the urgent need for vaccinations, why not aim more?” asked a reporter.
Psaki referred to the vaccination plan that Biden announced at the beginning of last month, when he swore it would be the “most efficient” in American history.
“We set that goal before any American received a single kick,” said Psaki.
“So the new Biden government felt it was important to define what was described as a bold and ambitious goal at the time, and many doubted that we could get there.”
The response largely echoed the words of his boss, who on Thursday night snarled at a White House reporter who questioned whether his plan was ambitious enough.
“It’s basically where the United States is now,” noted the reporter as Biden closed a briefing in which he warned that it would take months to inoculate most Americans.
“When I announced it, you all said it wasn’t possible,” replied Biden. “Come on, give me a break, man! It’s a good start. “
At his meeting on Friday, Psaki also said the new government was still trying to find its “sea legs” and blamed the Trump administration’s operational challenges.
“We want to define our own bookmarks and bookmarks for the American public to let them know that we are achieving our goal. If we go beyond that, great, ”she said of the 100-day goal.
So far, 37.9 million shots of the newly approved miracle jabs have been distributed across the country, but only 17.5 million have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Thursday, Biden released a comprehensive plan he described as a “large-scale war effort” to combat the pandemic by invoking the Defense Production Act to increase vaccine production and establish federally funded vaccination sites across the country. the country.
Many states still call for doses of the miracle drug. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have warned that their lockers will be empty on Friday.