President Biden’s call for every adult American to be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1 comes at a time when doses are being administered at an accelerated rate.
Last month alone, the vaccination rate increased by about 40 percent, to an average of 2.3 million vaccines per day on Friday, compared to an average of about 1.7 million vaccines per day on 12 December. February, according to the New York Times Database.
The increase in the rate of inoculations occurs as vaccine production increases. Biden’s team made important decisions that accelerated manufacturing and distribution, although part of that success is due to the Trump administration, which had an ongoing vaccine production effort when Biden took office.
But now that the supply of vaccines is increasingly close to meeting the demand of eligible, the country faces the challenge of putting all these vaccines in the arms, an operation that requires not only sufficient doses, but also improves access to communities of color. . like space, human resources and messages to convince Americans to be suspicious for a variety of reasons that getting vaccinated is safe and effective.
Mass vaccination sites are already opening and expanding across the country, and some sites are extending vaccination schedules. The White House announced on Friday that another vaccination site administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be opened at a football stadium in Detroit, which will be able to administer 6,000 doses per day.
More and more states have also expanded the criteria for people now eligible to apply for vaccines as well.
Since the vaccination campaign started in December, 101 million doses were administered across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of shots had been gradually increasing and, since January 20, more than 84 million doses that have been administered since Thursday. The president initially set a goal of 100 million pitches in the first 100 days of his term, and later said that he was targeting an average of 1.5 million pitches per day. At the current rate of 2.3 million shots a day, the country would surpass the mark of 100 million shots during its administration in about a week.
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In mid-February, Biden said that by the end of July there should be enough vaccine for any adult in the country. In early March, he said the schedule had moved to the end of May. Biden also recently announced that his administration would guarantee an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s single injection vaccine by the end of this year, a boost that could eventually make vaccines available to children. Additional doses can also be used for booster doses, if necessary.
Vaccinating the country has become a race against time, with new variants emerging across the country and state leaders becoming impatient to ease restrictions as the weather gets warmer. Biden’s health team has warned that now is not the time to lift restrictions, especially by leaving on the mask mandates that have been proven to prevent the spread of infections.
“We need everyone to continue washing their hands, remain socially distant and continue to wear the mask, as recommended by the CDC,” said Biden during a national speech on Thursday. “Because even if we dedicate all the resources we have, to beat this virus and return to normal depends on national unity.”
Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Noah Weiland contributed reports.