The U.S. will have administered 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced in a Wednesday press briefing.
The milestone reflects President Joe Biden meeting his goal of getting 200 million shots in arms within his first 100 days in office.
Biden pushed the goal to 200 million after meeting his initial goal of 100 million doses within roughly 60 days in office. (RELATED: Biden Admin Announces ‘Strong Support’ For DC Statehood Bill, Says 51st State ‘Long Overdue’)
Psaki says @POTUS will announce later today that the US is expected to reach 200 million vaccines on Thursday — he will also ask employers to give ppl time off to get vaccinated and will offer a tax credit to small and medium sized businesses to offset potential lost revenue
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) April 21, 2021
Psaki’s announcement came days after the administration announced that every American over the age of 16 is now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Currently only two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available, as the CDC sidelined the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to extremely rare blood clots.
Biden’s coronavirus response team said the pause on J&J vaccines will not affect Americans’ access to a vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the J&J vaccine is likely to return to use in some form.
“I can give you my estimate. My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form,” Fauci said during a Sunday interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I doubt very seriously if they just cancel it. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“I do think we will get it back in some manner or form,” he said. “I hope that we don’t see anything extended beyond Friday. We need to get Friday, some decision one way or the other.”
The White House has yet to announce a goal beyond 200 million doses, however, Fauci and other response team members have predicted that 75-80 percent of Americans will be vaccinated by late summer or early fall.