Biden directs states to make all adults eligible for vaccine by May

Max Garrison
Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:14:44 +0000
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In his first prime-time address Thursday evening, President Joe Biden is expected to call on all governors to make every adult in America eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, according to multiple news reports citing White House officials.?Credit: Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News via TNS

April showers bring May flowers, but this year they’ll likely be accompanied by COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for all adults before Ohio State’s in-person commencement.

In his first prime-time address Thursday evening, President Joe Biden called on all governors to make every adult in America eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.

“I’m using every power I have as President of the United States to get us on a war footing to get the job done,” Biden said.

The start-of-May goal is just more than a week before Ohio State’s May 9 commencement ceremony, which will be held in-person, University President Kristina M. Johnson announced in a universitywide email Tuesday.

The White House announced Wednesday it reached a deal with Johnson & Johnson to purchase another 100 million doses of its vaccine — the only FDA-approved single-dose vaccine. Johnson & Johnson contracted with pharmaceutical company Merck to speed up manufacturing.

“These two companies, competitors, have come together for the good of the nation and they should be applauded for that,” Biden said

Biden’s announcement also comes as Ohio opened COVID-19 vaccinations to groups 1D and 2B Thursday, which includes Ohioans aged 50-59 and those with Type 2 diabetes or end-stage kidney failure. About 1.7 million people are included in these groups, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

More than 2.1 million Ohioans — about 18.5 percent of the state — have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard.

This story was updated at 8:22 p.m. to include quotes from President Joe Biden.