President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday plans to move up a deadline that would allow all Americans adults to have access to a coronavirus vaccine by April 19 — up to almost two weeks sooner than planned in some states.
An administration official told CNN that during remarks on the state of vaccinations on Tuesday afternoon, Biden will announce that every adult in the country will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19 — roughly two weeks sooner than his May 1 deadline.
Biden is expected to credit efforts made by governors to meet the May 1 deadline for the sped up access, CNN said.
The pushed up deadline comes after Biden said last week that 90 percent of adults would be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine by April 19 and would have access to a vaccine site within five miles of their home amid a beefed up pharmacy vaccination program.
The New York Times reported that over the past five days alone, more than 5 percent of Americans have received a vaccine shot. According to CNN, Biden is expected to allude to that feat on Tuesday pointing at figures showing how more than 4 million coronavirus vaccine doses were administered in a single 24-hour period over the weekend.
Biden has created a pace that his administration has continually exceeded with regard to its vaccination program. The President previously increased a target for the number of shots in arms he planned for the nation to achieve within his first 100 days in office, and will announce on Tuesday that the United States is the first country to reach the benchmark of 150 million administered vaccine doses, CNN said.
That figure, Biden will say, is in line with the doubled goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office.
According to CNN, the President will also announce that more than 75 percent of people over the age of 65 have gotten a shot and more than half of that group has been fully vaccinated.
It remains unclear how Biden’s announcement will change plans in states that said they intended to open eligibility for shots on May 1.
Among the states with plans to open eligibility on May 1, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Monday announced revised plans that individuals ages 16 and older would be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination on April 19, ahead of the state’s original target.
