President Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took action Friday to expand the number of Americans eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
Biden’s HHS used the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act to expand eligibility to dentists, EMT’s, midwives, optometrists, paramedics, physician assistants, podiatrists, respiratory therapists and veterinarians, according to a press release. Medical students, nursing students and other health care students in professions covered by the PREP Act will also now be eligible.
Dentists and veterinarians — among other health professionals — will be able to administer the vaccine now, Biden will announce tonight.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 11, 2021
Biden made improving America’s vaccination campaign a key point of his address to the nation Thursday night.
“The key to getting us back to our lives is increasing vaccinations, and in order to do that, we need more vaccinators,” said Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran. (RELATED: America Has Millions Of Vaccine Doses It Can’t Use)
The newly-signed American Rescue Plan includes billions of dollars to aid in vaccination efforts across the country. The United States has so far administered more vaccines than any other country in the world, and Biden said the U.S. is on track to hit his goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days well ahead of schedule. (RELATED: NBC’s Peter Alexander Presses Psaki On Why Administration Won’t Give Trump Any Credit For Vaccines)
The U.S. has given about 101 million vaccine doses so far, and more Americans are fully vaccinated than have had recorded cases of the virus.