The government also unveiled a new tax credit designed to encourage companies with fewer than 500 employees to give paid time off to workers for vaccination – a policy included in Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package released last month. was signed by law.
Businesses and nonprofits can receive a tax credit of up to $ 511 per day of paid sick leave that employees take to have the opportunity or recover from the side effects from April 1 through September 30.
Biden also calls on all employers, regardless of size, to offer their employees paid time off to get vaccinated – and calls on companies to provide information about the shots and incentives to get them, such as product giveaways or other rewards .
The announcements come as the government reaches a new turning point in its campaign to vaccinate more than 300 million Americans: supply is starting to outstrip demand and deals are not being met in both rural areas and major cities.
The problem goes beyond hesitation to vaccinate and extends to Americans who neither have easy access to the injection nor the motivation to get vaccinated. State and federal officials say the focus is now on meeting people where they are.
“We are now approaching groups of people who – just because they are younger, make them less at risk, and so the urgency may be a bit lower,” an official told reporters on Wednesday. It doesn’t mean they are hesitant about getting the vaccine. It just means it should be more convenient for them. ”
Before taking office, Biden pledged to administer 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in December, along with the goal of opening the most schools across the country.
Later that month, the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of two vaccines from drug manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna, and public health experts predicted that Biden’s vaccination goal would be feasible given the government’s offer of injections.
But Biden expressed frustration with his coronavirus response team in January, as transition officials became increasingly concerned about the 100-day timeline, citing internal divisions and the shortcomings of the Trump administration’s vaccine accelerator, Operation Warp Speed.
After Biden rolled out its own plan for a large-scale vaccination program, the immunization effort was given fresh impetus from FDA approval of drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson’s one-time vaccine, opening a third option for use in the US in February.
By March, Biden had easily surpassed his goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, and later announced a new mission to double the goal over the same period.
In recent weeks, the administration has faced unexpected challenges in its vaccination campaign – primarily the recommendation from federal health authorities to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when investigating rare incidents of blood clots in recipients.
Government officials also grapple with the persistent issue of vaccine hesitation, especially among Republicans and younger, white Americans living in rural communities.
On Monday, however, all 50 states – as well as Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico – met Biden’s deadline to make the vaccine available to American adults ages 16 and older, which the president called “ another phase of this historic vaccination effort. ” ”
‘For Americans 16 and older, it’s your turn now. Now. So get your vaccine before the end of May, ”Biden said. “We can do this. And we will do this as long as we don’t stop.”