Biden Says ‘Most Americans’ Will be Able to Get Vaccine by Mid-April

Every few hours, it feels as though the White House is sending out some disparate and desperate message about COVID-19 that only serves to confuse the nation at large.

The general sentiment around the country is the this terrible, dark chapter in American history is waning.  We’ve been at this for a year now; we’ve acquiesced to the mask stuff, (mostly), and we’ve been careful about when and where we visit with at-risk individuals.

Further, the vaccine rollout has been incredibly effective, with President Joe Biden having touted his administration’s work on that subject several times over the last week.

Yesterday was no exception.

At least 90 percent of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations by April 19 as a string of states expand who can get the shots and thousands of additional pharmacies start receiving doses, President Joe Biden said Monday.

The federal government will expand the number of pharmacies receiving shipments of the vaccines from 17,000 to 40,000 by mid-April, he said. The White House estimates that as a result, 90 percent of adults in the U.S. will have vaccination sites within 5 miles of their homes.

At least 31 states have announced that they will open vaccinations to all adults in the coming days. New York said it would vaccinate anyone over age 30 starting Tuesday. Biden had previously directed states to make all adults eligible by May 1 and said the remaining 10 percent of adults would still be eligible by that date.

But this message of hope comes within hours of Biden also pleading with local leaders to reinstate mask mandates and slow down the much-needed reopening of the American economy.