Dentists, veterinarians and med students authorized to administer Covid shots as Biden expands vaccine program
A U.S. Army soldier from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, immunizes Jacklina Mendez with the COVID-19 vaccine at the Miami Dade College North Campus on March 09, 2021 in North Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
The Biden administration will allow a wider array of medical workers, including dentists, veterinarians, EMTs and medical students, to begin administering Covid-19 shots as part of its “war-time” effort to get the nation closer to normal by mid-summer.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is using its authority under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to authorize more medical professionals and qualified students to administer the shots, the agency said in a statement Friday.
That means dentists, EMTs, midwives, optometrists, paramedics, physician assistants, podiatrists, respiratory therapists and veterinarians can begin administering Covid-19 vaccines nationwide, according to HHS.
It also authorizes “medical students, nursing students, and other health care students in the professions listed under the PREP Act with proper training and professional supervision to serve as vaccinators,” the statement said.
The move comes after President Joe Biden announced Thursday evening that he will direct all U.S. states, tribes and territories to make all adults, ages 18 and up, eligible for the coronavirus vaccines by May 1.
The president, during his first primetime event to the nation on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, said the aim is for Americans to be able to gather in small, in person groups to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“That does not mean that everyone will get a shot immediately, but May 1 is the date every adult will be eligible to sign up to get the shot,” Biden’s Covid czar Jeff Zients said at a press briefing on Friday. “By the end of May, we expect to have enough vaccine supply for all adults in this country.”
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first set of guidance for people who are fully vaccinated, which says they can now mingle with other vaccinated people inside without masks or social distancing.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
