President Joe Biden has announced the next phase of his administration’s wartime effort to vaccinate the entire American population with the goal of leading the United States to independence” from Covid-19 by July 4.<\/p>\n
Biden promised in his primetime address Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the coronavirus<\/span> pandemic that all adult Americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than May 1.<\/p>\n “We’re going to go from a million shots a day that I promised in December, before I was sworn in, to two million shots a day, outpacing the rest of the world,” Biden said.<\/p>\n Vaccines will be delivered directly to up to an additional 700 community health<\/span> centers that reach underserved communities, increasing the total number of participating community health centers across the country to 950. <\/p>\n The number of pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy program will be doubled, making the vaccine available at more than 20,000 pharmacies. The Administration is directing pharmacies to expand mobile operations into the hardest hit communities.<\/p>\n The Administration will more than double the number of federally-run mass vaccination centers, run by FEMA, the U.S. military, and other federal agencies in partnership with states.<\/p>\n More than 4,000 active duty troops will be deployed to support vaccination efforts, and the pool of qualified professionals able to administer vaccine shots will be expanded.<\/p>\n The President announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to issue clear guidance for individuals on what they can do after being fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n Biden laid out new steps to reopen the nation’s schools safely. That includes a national Safe School Reopening Summit this month, and implementing regular screening tests in schools to assist them in safely reopening classrooms. HHS will award $650 million in an initial investment in expanding K-8 school testing.<\/p>\n Biden cautioned Americans not to let their guard down as scientists have warned that things may get worse again as new variants of the virus spread. “We’ve got work to do to ensure everyone has confidence in the safety and effectiveness of all three vaccines,” he said.<\/p>\n The President warned that if people don’t stay vigilant and the conditions change, the government may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track.<\/p>\n