[ad_1]
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that his goal of administering 100 million covid-19 vaccines during his administration would be met on Friday, well ahead of the original target.
“I am proud to announce that tomorrow (…) we will have achieved my goal”, he said in a speech at the White House. Biden initially said he wanted to reach the figure in 100 days, but that goal will have been reached in less than 60 days.
The goal of 100 million doses was first announced on December 8, days before the United States even had a licensed vaccine against COVID-19. When Biden took office on January 20, the United States had already administered 20 million vaccines at a rate of about one million doses per day, prompting complaints at the time that Biden’s target was not was not ambitious enough. He quickly revised it up to 150 million doses in his first 100 days.
Today, the United States is injecting an average of about 2.2 million doses per day, and the vaccination rate is likely to increase significantly later this month alongside the expected increase in vaccine supplies.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 96 million doses of injections have been reported to the agency since Biden’s inauguration, but those reports are behind the actual date of administration. Vaccination trend lines indicate Biden broke the 100 million mark on Thursday, and the numbers are expected to be confirmed by the CDC over the weekend.
The President has mobilized to speed up vaccine deliveries from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as to increase the number of places to receive vaccines and the people who can administer them, with an emphasis on increase in the country’s capacity to inject doses. because the delivery limitations are removed.
Biden assured the country would get enough doses to inoculate the entire population in May, two months ahead of schedule, and called on all states to lift age restrictions on applying the vaccines so that all over 18 years who wish to get one can do so. so.
The risk of setting overly optimistic expectations is for an administration to define itself as non-compliance, as in May 2020, when President Donald Trump said the nation had “prevailed” over the virus.
At that time, the country had experienced some 80,000 deaths from the virus. This week, the death toll in the United States topped 538,000. Trump’s lax approach and lack of credibility have also contributed to the poor adherence to public safety standards by the American public.
Prior to these statements by Biden, the White House announced that the United States was considering ship a total of 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada, in what will be your first action of this nature.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was finalizing its efforts to distribute 2.5 million doses in Mexico and 1.5 million in Canada as a “loan.” Details are still being worked out.
“Our first priority remains immunizing the American population,” Psaki said. But he added that “Ensuring our neighbors can contain the virus is a mission critical step, it is essential to end the pandemic.
With information from AFP and AP
KEEP READING:
[ad_2]
Source link