Biden Aims to Administer 100 Million Vaccine Doses in the First 100 Days

The goal is ambitious but desperately needed

US President-elect Joe Biden delivers remarks on his plan to administer Covid-19 vaccines at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware on January 15, 2021. Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

During a speech today, President-elect Joe Biden made a series of announcements about his administration’s plans to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and to speed up vaccine distribution, with the goal of delivering 100 million doses during his first 100 days in office.

Here are the five initiatives he laid out in order to achieve the ambitious target:

1. Expand eligibility for the Covid-19 vaccine to include adults aged 65 and older as well as essential workers outside of the health care industry, such as teachers and grocery store workers. Biden acknowledged that there currently aren’t enough doses available to vaccinate all Americans in this group. Instead, the goal is the faster deployment of the millions of doses that are available but still sitting in freezers. A similar announcement was made earlier this week by the Department of Health and Human Services.
2. Set up thousands of community vaccination centers with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A focus will be on equity, and locations will be prioritized in minority and rural communities. These centers will be staffed by first responders, military medical personnel, retired doctors, and others who will…