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BIDEN TELLS AMERICANS: WE CAN MARK COVID INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4
- By The Financial District
- Mar 12, 2021
- 2 min read
President Biden on Thursday evening directed states to make all adult Americans eligible to receive coronavirus vaccines no later than May 1, using a somber but hopeful prime-time address to the nation to say Americans may be able to “mark our independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July, the New York Times reported.
Mr. Biden offered a renewed sense of optimism in his primetime nationwide address as he recognized the first anniversary since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of the virus a global pandemic, which plunged the nation and the world into health and economic crises.
With continued vigilance, he said, families and friends may be able to gather to celebrate the nation’s independence.
“If we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th there’s a good chance you, your families, and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day,” the president said.
Mr. Biden’s speech — solemn and short — was a stark contrast to the often rambling and defensive remarks by former President Donald J. Trump, who a year ago to the day had said “the risk is very, very low” for most Americans and predicted that the country would “ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus.”
Instead, Mr. Biden sought to balance empathy for more than 529,000 lives lost with the deep yearning among Americans for an end to the crisis.
He warned that a return to normal this summer would require the public to continue to wear masks, social distance, and sign up to be vaccinated.
His order to eliminate the current prioritization of vaccine eligibility is a reflection, his aides said, of the administration’s confidence that there will soon be enough vaccine for everyone.
The speech came just hours after Mr. Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law, calling it an effort focused on “rebuilding the backbone of this country.”
