All Americans 16 years and older are now eligible for coronavirus vaccines beginning Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden said his administration’s new goal was for every adult in the U.S. to be eligible by April 19, shaving about two weeks off his original May 1 deadline.
In a video posted to Twitter, the president encouraged Americans to get vaccinated in a bid to return to normal life sooner. “No more, confusing rules. No more confusing restrictions,” Biden said.
As of today, every American is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For yourself, your neighbors, and your family — please, get your vaccine. pic.twitter.com/o75JYpGe6r
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 19, 2021
“Folks, I have good news,” Biden said in a White House clip. “Everybody is eligible, as of today, to get the vaccine. We have enough of it; you need to be protected, and you need, in turn, to protect your neighbors and your family. So please, get the vaccine.”
Adults over 16 in all 50 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, are eligible. The development coincides with a finding that slightly more than half of all U.S. adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And for 16- and 17-year-olds wanting to get inoculated, their only option is Pfizer’s vaccine, since it’s the only dose to get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization for that age group, so far.
More than 190 million doses have been put into people’s arms since Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. That puts the president well on track to meet his new goal of 200 million shots administered by April 30 — his 100th day in office.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Monday encouraged Americans be cautious despite the increase in vaccinations as the number of cases and hospitalizations.
“We remain in a complicated stage. On the one hand, more people in the United States are being vaccinated every single day at an accelerated pace,” Walensky said. “On the other hand cases and hospitalizations are increasing.”