Biden says they will vaccinate 1.5 million people in the US every day

Biden seeks more vaccines produced 0:48

(CNN) -

President Joe Biden said Monday that he hopes the United States will soon be able to vaccinate 1.5 million people a day, raising the bar by about 500,000 more vaccines than its goal of 1 million a day for its first 100 days. in office.

He said the United States could exceed that initial target in about three weeks.

"I am pretty sure that within the next three weeks we will be able to vaccinate people in the range of one million per day or more," he told reporters, clarifying that he was referring to 100 million doses, not necessarily 100 million doses. people, as some of the vaccines require more than one injection.

Biden said the key factors in increasing vaccines are having enough vaccine, having enough syringes and other necessary equipment, and having enough people administering them.

He said his administration is working to produce additional vaccinators, people who can administer the vaccine.

"I think that, as the old saying goes, with the grace of God, the good will of the neighbor and the neighboring stream that does not overflow, I think we can reach 1.5 million a day, instead of a million a day" Biden said.

Shortly after Biden's briefing, a White House official told CNN that the administration's official goal remains 100 million vaccine injections in his first 100 days in office.

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This is a goal that the White House still considers "ambitious, but achievable," the official said, but they also anticipate that many things could go wrong given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic.

However, the official stressed that the hope now was to exceed that original goal of 100 million vaccine injections in the first 100 days.

Describing Biden as "optimistic," the official also said the president has been pushing his covid workforce to aim to advance beyond its initial target of 100 million vaccine doses in 100 days.

Coronavirus vaccine manufacturers ask for more time

Biden's announcement came on the same day that Pfizer and Moderna officials said it will take time to expand manufacturing of their vaccines.

Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge said vaccine manufacturers have an obligation to maintain quality and consistency as capacity increases.

"That's the frustrating thing about enlargement," said Hoge.

Increasing vaccinations will not necessarily shift the target schedule for getting vaccinations for anyone in the United States who wants one.

Biden said he believes anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it in the spring, a deadline similar to that set under the Trump administration.

Biden's commitment to increasing coronavirus vaccines is among a broader list of efforts discussed at the White House on Monday to address the coronavirus pandemic.

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Biden signed a presidential proclamation on Monday re-establishing travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic for those traveling to the United States from the Schengen area, in Europe, as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa.

And speaking to reporters, Biden also referred to the importance of creating a forum where Americans “can show up, stand in line and get their vaccine without having to stand in line for eight hours, be able to pick up the phone, call the pharmacy and write down their name on the list ».

But the new efforts come amid constant confusion and urgent concerns in different states over the supply and distribution of the country's coronavirus vaccine.

Early Monday, New York City Health Commissioner David Chokshi told CNN that the city "does not have enough doses" of the covid-19 vaccine to "meet the demand that we know exists between New Yorkers. '

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida's capacity far exceeds the amount of vaccine the federal government has administered to them.

And Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker similarly said that the state is "establishing the capacity to deliver far more doses than we are currently receiving or planning to receive from the (federal government)."

For the past two days, both Biden's chief spokesperson, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said they did not know what the current supply levels of coronavirus vaccines are.

They both blamed the Trump administration for the problem.

But speaking to the press on Monday, Biden claimed that his administration does know how many coronavirus vaccines are available in the United States, yet he did not disclose concrete figures.

“We are optimistic that we will have enough vaccines.

And in a very short time.

As you know, we took over without knowing how many vaccines were available.

Now that we're here, we've been around for a week or so, now we have that, ”Biden said.

"And we have gotten a commitment from some of the producers that they will, in fact, produce more vaccines in a relatively short period of time and then continue to do that in the future."

- CNN's MJ Lee contributed to this report.

Coronavirus Vaccine