President Joe Biden is continuing to ramp up efforts in the fight against the coronavirus, having pledged during his first primetime speech on Thursday evening to increase the amount of federal vaccine centers, to open enrollment for additional people to become vaccinators, and a mandate that all adults be eligible for the vaccine by May 1.
With the combination of 200 million doses each of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine, and with Johnson & Johnson “delivering at or near its 100 million” first round supply by the end of May, per White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients, the administration expects to have enough vaccines for all adults to get vaccinated by the end of that same month.
But in order to convert those doses into shots in arms, officials say a massive mobilization effort will be needed — and thanks to the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, they now have the funds to do so.
“We need to make it easier for every American to get vaccinated,” Zients said during a press briefing on Friday.
The administration plans to take a number of steps in order to increase vaccine availability, including delivering doses to nearly 700 additional community health centers; increasing vaccine supply at over 20,000 pharmacies; and doubling the number of federally-funded mass vaccination centers.
Zients announced Friday that one such center will open at Detroit’s Ford Field on March 24, one of 20 high-volume, mass-vaccination sites planned across the country. The site will be run by FEMA, and will have the capacity to administer up to 6,000 shots per day.
Michigan also announced Friday that all residents age 16 and up will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.
People aged 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting March 22, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots under a previous announcement.
The White House on Friday also ordered a PREP Act Declaration Amendment that will expand who is eligible to administer the COVID-19 shots. The newly-eligible class of vaccinators includes: dentists, emergency medical technicians, midwives, optometrists, paramedics, physician assistants, podiatrists, respiratory therapists, and veterinarians. Recently retired members of these professions are also eligible to become vaccinators, as are medical students, nursing students, and students in other relevant health care professions.
To coincide with the eligibility expansion, the administration has launched a new portal for those in the aforementioned professions who wish to become COVID-19 vaccinators. The site explains eligibility requirements, and also links to statewide portals for volunteer vaccinator registration.
“I am very excited to see that more of my healthcare colleagues now have the chance to further expand their participation in the response,” said Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a senior advisor to the COVID-19 response team, adding: “Expanding the number of places people can get vaccinated, as well as the number of vaccinators, that’s going to be critical for us as we drive an equitable response.”
Equity is at the heart of Biden’s increased vaccination effort, as Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely than white Americans to say they are close to someone who has died from COVID-19 and less likely to have received a vaccination. The pandemic has killed Black and Hispanic Americans at rates disproportionate to their population in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are faced with this reality that marginalized and minoritized communities are often the first to be forgotten, especially when resources are in short supply,” Dr. Nunez-Smith said. “And so we remain very committed to disrupting that narrative.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.