WASHINGTON — Every state in the U.S. has opened coronavirus vaccine eligibility to all adults, meeting a deadline set earlier this month by President Joe Biden, multiple news outlets are reporting.
On Monday, five states – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Oregon and Hawaii – expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults, joining the rest of the nation, according to The New York Times and USA Today.
Last month, Biden initially directed states, tribes and territories to make all adult Americans eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by May 1. On April 6, he announced that he was moving up the deadline by two weeks, to April 19, The Associated Press reported.
“No more confusing rules.”
— The Recount (@therecount) April 6, 2021
— President Biden announces that ALL adults in the U.S. will be eligible for the vaccine by April 19 pic.twitter.com/BriDBSsY7u
As of Monday morning, at least 131.2 million Americans – about 39.5% of the total population – had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 84.2 million people have been fully vaccinated nationwide, amounting to about 25.4% of the total population, the CDC reported.
The U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of COVID-19 cases confirmed nationwide, at 31.6 million, according to a count from Johns Hopkins University. The viral infection has claimed more than 567,000 lives in the U.S. alone.
Read more here and here.
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Cox Media Group
