Joe Biden announced a new phase in vaccination against COVID-19: “Americans from 16 years old, it’s your turn now”

The President of the United States, Joe Biden announced the start of a new phase in the ambitious vaccination plan being implemented in the country against COVID-19 on Wednesday.

“If you are over 16 years old, you can now request your free vaccination against COVID-19″ Said the president, who represented a broadening of age groups to receive the immunizer. “Americans over 16, it’s your turn now,” he reinforced.

Biden explained that very soon 80% of people over 60 will be vaccinated with at least one dose, while education centers in the country have begun to open as a result of the vaccination of teachers and teaching staff in all states.

In a speech, Biden also said he hopes United States reaches 100-day target of 200 million coronavirus vaccines at the end of the day, even as the nation faces a wave of infections. “Today we will reach 200 million doses,” said Biden. “It’s an incredible achievement for the nation.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of adults in the US have received at least one dose of the vaccine. One-third of American adults are fully vaccinated, as is 26% of the general population.

The democratic president wanted to persuade young people to get vaccinated. “They may think they don’t need to be vaccinated. Let me explain why yes. One reason is that the vaccine prevents you from becoming seriously ill or even dying. If you are fully vaccinated, this is unlikely to happen to you; the vaccine can save your life. The second reason is that you are doing it for your community. If you get vaccinated, you protect everyone around you ”.

Biden stated that currently, “90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a vaccination center”, giving everyone easy access to get vaccinated.

“The vaccine is free, it is convenient and it is becoming more and more available”, the president urged.

During his speech, the president launched a program so that any US employer, large or small, can give their employees paid time to get vaccinated. No worker in the US should lose money by getting vaccinated, ”he clarified.

It is a program of tax breaks for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the country who give paid time off to their employees so that they can be vaccinated against covid-19 and, if necessary, recover from the vaccination.

According to the White House, only 43% of working adults have received at least one injection.

“There are no excuses for them not to,” Biden reinforced, expecting that despite all efforts, they will have to try a little harder to celebrate our independence on July 4th.

Surveys have shown that doubts about vaccines have diminished since their launch, But government officials believe they should make vaccination easier and more attractive, especially for younger Americans who are less at risk of contracting the virus and don’t feel the same urgency as adults. That means foresee incentives and encouragement to get vaccinated, as well as reducing the friction around the vaccination process.

Maximizing the number of Americans vaccinated in the coming months is critical to the White House, which is striving restore a semblance of normalcy around the July 4th holiday and even more so before the start of the next school year.

The United States is on track to have enough vaccines for all adults by the end of May and for all Americans by July. but administering the injections will be a different matter.

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