Biden says US administered 150 million Covid vaccine doses so far

Washington [US], April 7, : US President Joe Biden on Tuesday visited a Covid-19 vaccination centre just before his remarks announcing that every adult in America will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine by mid-April.
Biden spent some time at a vaccination site run by Neighborhood Health inside Virginia Theological Seminary's Immanuel Chapel in Alexandria.
He spoke to workers seated at a white table where people get themselves checked in for their Covid-19 shot. He asked roughly how many people a day come through, to which an official said about 300 people a day.
He also spoke about encouraging a community spirit to get vaccinated
The Neighborhood Health sees a count of 300 people on a regular basis, say the health workers. An estimate of about 20,000 doses, 5,000 shots a week is administered by the non profit.
At one point Biden leaned over and whispered to the workers: "We passed 150 million yesterday."
Approaching three people receiving a shot near where the pool was held, POTUS said: "You're doing the right thing...really important. And when you go back when you go home, get all your friends, tell them, 'Get a shot when they can,'" he said. "We're going to be able - everyone's going to be able to before the month is out. Every age."
The US president reassured people and said: "All these strains you're hearing about. You should not worry."
"They are more virulent. They are ...more dangerous but the vaccines work on all of them."
"Hopefully we're going to get good enough, pretty soon, where we have enough that we can give the rest of the world. Because this is something that's not just... we can solve it here in America. We don't solve it around the world - you can't build a wall or fence high enough to keep out a virus," he said.
Asked if the worst of the coronavirus pandemic was behind us, POTUS said: "I think If everyone continues down the road that we're on now, it will be behind us but it's not over yet. We're in a situation where I believe by end of the summer, we'll have a significant portion of the American public vaccinated."
Later at the White House Biden announced that every adult in the US will be eligible to be vaccinated for COVId-19 by April 19, which is two weeks earlier than May 1 deadline that Biden had previously targeted.
"By no later than April 19, every adult aged 18 years and above will be eligible to be vaccinated. No more confusing rules. No more confusing restrictions" said Biden In his remarks at the White House on Tuesday.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 167m doses have so far been administered in the US. While 40 per cent of adults have received at least one shot, about a quarter have completed their course of vaccinations, including 55 per cent of people aged over 65.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it has awarded Virginia $77.1 million to support local efforts to increase vaccine uptake by expanding COVID-19 vaccine programs and ensuring greater equity and access to vaccine by those disproportionately affected by the virus.
The United States is averaging more than 64,000 new cases each day, a 20 percent increase from two weeks earlier, the NYT reported adding the country is averaging over 800 Covid-19 deaths each day, the lowest level since November.