At one point during the final months of the Trump regime, it appeared as though most of us may not be vaccinated until later this summer or next fall if not later, but things have obviously transpired quite differently under President Biden.
The Biden administration set a goal of vaccinating 100 million people in their first one hundred days in office, but we reached that goal in just 59 days and now they've doubled the goal to 200 million.
Biden held a press conference yesterday afternoon where he announced the new goal.
“I know it’s ambitious — twice our original goal — but no other country in the world has come close ... to what we’re doing,” Biden told reporters as he opened his first news conference as president.
“I believe we can do it.”
After a slower-than-expected rollout under former President Donald Trump, the pace of vaccinations in the United States has rapidly increased and has been averaging about 2.5 million doses per day in the past week.
If that vaccination rate is maintained, Biden’s 200-million-dose target would be hit in about five weeks, or around April 23 — a full week before Biden would mark 100 days in the White House.
Republicans and some members of our political press like those who pressured Biden to hold a press conference yesterday believe he will be known for his gaffes, his stutter, for tripping on the stairs, or whatever, but none of that matters.
The Biden administration will be remembered for the American Rescue Plan, the "Build Back Better" plan assuming it eventually passes, but most importantly for ending the coronavirus pandemic here in the United States. And while we still have a long way to go to truly ending it, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The daily news cycle is nothing compared to ending the pandemic. I don't cover every single utterance here -- I don't feel a need to respond every single time the press thinks they caught Biden slipping up -- because I know it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
I will supposedly be eligible for a vaccine on Monday and I will be scheduling an appointment to get shot up as soon as I can. I expect it will be an emotional moment for me when I receive a vaccine because it won't just protect me from the coronavirus, it will also represent a ticket to my new life. I know that will be true for many people for their own reasons.