WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is set to announce Thursday evening that he will direct states to make all adults eligible for the Covid vaccines by May 1.
Biden, in his first primetime address to the nation, is also expected to say that Americans should be able to gather in small groups to celebrate the Fourth of July, a senior administration official told reporters Thursday.
“He will be clear that that does not mean large events where lots of people gather, but it does mean that we can once again have an independence day with small gatherings and celebrations,” the official told reporters ahead of the speech.
“And that’s a big step in the right direction,” the official added. “We believe that if we do our part we’ll be in a much better place by Independence Day, and we can start to resume more of our normal activities.”
Biden’s address is scheduled for just after 8 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast from the East Room of the White House. The speech is expected to last less than 20 minutes.
US President Joe Biden speaks about the 50 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine shot administered in the US during an event commemorating the milestone in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, February 25, 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The primetime event comes hours after Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, which he had aggressively pushed Congress to pass during his first 50 days in office.
Biden’s remarks come as the United States administered a record number of vaccines over the weekend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administered 2.9 million vaccines on Saturday, a record, and 2.4 million on Sunday, according to the agency’s latest tally. The numbers are subject to revisions as more data becomes available to public health officials.
Biden is set to embark on a nationwide tour next week to tout the first major legislative accomplishment of his administration. The president will depart Tuesday for Delaware County in Pennsylvania, an electoral swing state that was key to Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump.
Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will “lay out some more specifics” of how the administration will fight the virus moving forward.
CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger reported from New York City.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
