Back in December, I set a goal of administering 100 million shots — vaccine shots in my first 100 days in office, stated President Joseph Biden in a speech released by The White House. At the time, some told us that it couldn’t be done, it was awfully ambitious. But we did it in 58 days because of the incredible staff I have.
He continued:
And so, I set a second goal to deliver 200 million shots in my first 100 days in office — a goal unmatched in the world or in prior mass vaccination efforts in American history. When tomorrow’s vaccine — vaccination numbers come out, it will show that, today, we did it. Today, we hit 200 million shots on the 92nd day in office. Two hundred million shots in 100 days — in under 100 days, actually. It’s an incredible achievement for the nation, and here’s the context:
Some experts say that our — the rapid vaccination effort has already saved tens of thousands of American lives. We’ll never know exactly, but we know it saved lives that would have otherwise been lost.
I’m proud of the work my administration has done to get Americans vaccinated. But more than that, I’m proud of the American people: the volunteers who showed up to staff vaccination sites in their neighborhoods, drove senior citizens to get their shots; FEMA; the military, the National Guard; state and local health departments and providers running sites safely and efficiently; retired healthcare workers coming back to give lifesaving shots to people in their communities.
This is an American achievement; a powerful demonstration of unity and resolve — what unity will do for us; and a reminder of what we can accomplish when we pull together as one people to a common goal.
Now that we’ve reached this milestone, we’re entering a new phase of our vaccination effort. As of Monday, at my direction, with the support of 50 governors — Democrats and Republicans, alike — everyone over the age of 16 will be [is now] eligible to get vaccinated.
The first three months of our vaccination program fercus [sic] — focused on targeting vaccines to specific high-risk groups. Now our objective is to reach everyone — everyone over the age of 16 in America. Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, if you are 16 or older, you are now eligible for a free COVID vaccine shot, and we have the vaccine to deliver.
Let me point out a few achievements.
· First, as of this past Sunday, more than 50% of adult Americans have had at least one vaccine shot.
· When it comes to our target groups, the largest groups we’ve focused on in these past 92 days have been seniors: Americans age 65 and older. They account for 80% of all the COVID deaths before we started vaccinating. When I took office, 8% of the people over 65 had received their first shot. I’m pleased to announce that, by tomorrow, that total will exceed 80% of the people over the age of 65.
· 90% of the American people now live within five miles of a place where they can get a shot. And under our federal vaccination program, shots will be available at nearly 40,000 pharmacies coast to coast.
As we move into the vaccination campaign focused on working-age adults, one concern I’ve heard from so many Americans is that they can’t afford to take the time off to get vaccinated or lose a day’s work because they are feeling slightly under the weather after their shot. So today, I’m announcing a program to address that issue nationwide. I’m calling on every employer, large and small, in every state, to give employees the time off they need, with pay, to get vaccinated and any time they need, with pay, to recover if they are feeling under the weather after the shot.
To Americans 16 years and older, it’s your turn now. So go get your vaccine before the end of May. We can do this. And we’ll do this as long as we don’t let up.
