BIDEN MOVES VACCINE ELIGIBILITY DATE TO APRIL 19 FROM MAY 1

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is shaving about two weeks off his May 1 deadline for states to make all adults eligible for coronavirus vaccines, Darlene Superville reported for the Associated Press (AP).

With states gradually expanding eligibility beyond such priority groups as older people and essential, front-line workers, the president stated that every adult in the US will be eligible by April 19 to be vaccinated, a White House official said.

Biden was scheduled to visit a COVID-19 vaccination site in Virginia on Tuesday, followed by remarks at the White House updating the nation on the administration’s progress against the coronavirus. April 19 is about two weeks earlier than Biden’s original May 1 deadline.

Biden is also expected to announce that 150 million doses have been put into people’s arms since his inauguration on Jan. 20. That puts the president well on track to meet his new goal of 200 million shots administered by April 30 — his 100th day in office.

Biden’s original goal had been 100 million shots in arms by the end of his first 100 days. The announcement about vaccine eligibility is somewhat symbolic and comes as states already were moving up their deadlines from the original May 1 goal. It also comes as a flood of vaccine supply is being sent to states this week.

At least a dozen states opened eligibility to anyone over the age of 16 on Monday alone, while New Jersey’s governor announced Monday that people age 16 and older will become eligible on April 19. A handful of states, including Hawaii and Oregon, still have May 1 as the deadline.

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