Joe Biden, during his statements about the coronavirus at the White House.OLIVER CONTRERAS / POOL / EFE
Joe Biden, president of the United States, has announced that all adults in the country will have access to the vaccine against covid-19 by April 19.
The announcement made before visiting a vaccination center in Alexandria, outside of Washington, implies a two-week advance on the goal previously announced by his administration, set for May 1.
Despite the good news, the president wanted to appeal to prudence by declaring that the country is still "in a life and death race against the virus."
“My message today is very simple.
Many states have already opened vaccination to all adults, but starting April 19, every adult in every state, every adult in this country, will have the right to get in line and get a covid vaccine, "said Biden.
“Get vaccinated now!” The president urged the older ones.
“If you know someone over 65 who hasn't had this life-saving vaccine, call them now.
Help them get their fix this week or next.
Go find them at home, drive them [to the vaccination center], ”Biden continued.
"It could be your parents, your grandparents, your aunt or uncle, your neighbors," insisted the president.
"The confusing rules are over," declared the president, setting April 19 as his goal.
Biden declared that the United States was the first country in the world to have administered 150 million vaccines and pointed out that that number had been achieved in his first 75 days in office.
"By the end of 100 days, 200 million people will have been vaccinated," the president announced.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of Americans (out of a population of just over 330 million) have already received at least the first dose of the vaccine;
just over 23.2% of the country's adults are already fully immunized.
Biden remained cautious throughout his speech, stating that "until the vaccine is available worldwide and we end the virus mutating in other countries we will not be completely safe."
The US president has stepped on the accelerator since he placed vaccinating citizens at the center of his agenda as a priority.
In turn, the White House on Tuesday ruled out the imposition of any form of health passport for vaccination against the coronavirus in the United States, but said that private companies were free to explore the idea.
“The Government does not and will not now support a system that requires Americans to carry a credential.
There will be no federal vaccine database or federal mandate that requires everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential, ”said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
So-called vaccine passports, which prove someone has been inoculated against COVID-19, have been touted around the world as a potentially powerful tool to safely reopen countries to mass gatherings and travel.
However, the idea has sparked widespread pushback over privacy concerns or other civil rights abuses.
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