A look at COVID-19 vaccine rollout in US during Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office

Joe Biden, who was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, will be completing his 100 days in office soon. During his election campaigns, the Democrat promised to take swift action against the COVID-19 pandemic. This included a fast-paced vaccine rollout and a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package for US citizens. Let’s take a look at the milestones Biden has reached in terms of the vaccination campaign.

Before coming to power, Biden said his goal was to deliver 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in the first 100 days of his presidency. However, the 78-year-old reached his goal 40 days ahead of the schedule, on March 12. This was made possible by the rapidly increased pace of vaccinations, averaging about 2 million to 3 million shots per day.

On March 26, the Biden administration doubled its initial vaccination goal to 200 million doses and outlined a four-part plan to expand the availability and accessibility of COVID-19 vaccines and sites.

Also read: President Joe Biden’s inauguration raised $61.8 million, Pfizer among patrons

All of this came on top of the president setting a target date of May 1 for all US adults to be eligible for the vaccine shots. Biden said that this step will put the nation on a path to get closer to “normal” by July 4 this year.

On Wednesday, Biden lauded his government’s “stunning” achievement in administering 200 million shots. “Today we did it, today we hit 200 million shots,” he said in a televised speech from the White House. This is “an incredible achievement for the nation.”

According to Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director, 2.56 million doses have been administered in the US till April 21. “Over one in three adults fully vaccinated, will be at least one in two by mid-May,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

In addition, Biden’s administration also signed deals with Johnson & Johnson to buy 100 million additional doses of its COVID-19 jab. It also made agreements with Moderna and Pfizer for 600 million doses combined, enough to inoculate 300 million Americans. 

Meanwhile, Biden has managed to get a strong job approval rating of 59% in a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, mostly thanks to his policies regarding the battle against the deadly pandemic. His predecessor received a rating of only 39% in the first April of his only term of office.