U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the United States will have administered 200 million coronavirus shots by the end of the day.
"Today, we did it. Today we hit 200 million shots on the 92nd day in office," Biden stated in remarks from the White House. "It's an incredible achievement for the nation.”
Biden mentioned that the first three months of the country's vaccination effort was targeted to seniors and health workers, but the situation has now changed.
By Thursday, Biden announced that 80 percent of people over the age of 65 would receive at least one shot.
Moreover, Biden affirmed that everyone over the age of 16 is now eligible to get a shot, noting that 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of someplace they can get vaccinated.
Accordingly, the administration's partnership with pharmacies means shots are available at more than 40,000 retail pharmacies from coast to coast.
"To put it simply, if you've been waiting for your turn, wait no longer. Now is the time for everyone over 16 years of age to get vaccinated," the U.S. president asserted, adding that, despite the progress made, "the broad swath of American adults still remain largely unvaccinated."
He also noted that he understands young people may not think they need to be vaccinated. Nonetheless, people are still dying from COVID-19 every single day.
"Vaccines can save your own life, but they can also save your grandmother's life, your co-worker's life," he stressed.
Also, he called on the public not to grow complacent, stating that the country is still on track to meet his goal of having small gatherings on Independence Day as long as Americans wear masks and practice physical distancing while they're still not vaccinated.
"We all need to mask up until the number cases go down, till everyone has a chance to get their shot," the President reaffirmed.
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