Biden announces all American adults can now get vaccine

Joe Biden has championed the roll-out of Covid vaccines to all American adults and called on people to take-up the offer to protect others.

In a short video on Twitter, the US president said on Monday that “you need to be protected” and that everyone in the US was eligible from today.

“Folks, I have good news,” said Mr Biden of the roll-out to all Americans above the age of 18. “Everyone is eligible as of today, to get the vaccine.”

Outlining the importance of being vaccinated for the protection of others, Mr Biden added: “We have enough of it, you need to be protected, and you need, in turn, to protect your neighbours and your family.”

It makes the US one of a few countries globally to begin administering Covid vaccinations to all adults. Others include Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The 19 April deadline for all US states to roll-out vaccines to all adults was brought forward from 1 May by the Biden administration.

White House press sectary Jen Psaki confirmed last month that it would mean Americans no longer need to check with local or state officials to book a vaccination.

The president, in a set of remarks last month, said the country was “still in a life-and-death race” with Covid even as the number of vaccinated adults approached half the adult population.

That figure was reached on Sunday, according to data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So far, the number of US adults with a single dose of a vaccine is 131,247,546, with a further 84,263,408 fully vaccinated, according to CDC data, including over 80 per cent of teachers.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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