While the 4th of July is certainly earlier than Labor Day, we still wonder how much longer we have before Biden decides to renege. Last night’s address was a very important one. He’s still urging Americans to remain vigilant about masks and distancing but now he’s giving out a key date. May 1 is now the target for when vaccines are going to be available to the entire population.
That means no more waiting for all of the high-risk vaccinations before you have your turn. If Biden is to be believed, everyone should be able to make an appointment by then and there won’t be any jockeying for position. The vaccines are said to significantly decrease the amount of transmissions and as more Americans receive their injections, the Fourth of July seems like a reasonable target.
CNN had some solid predictions before the address took place and to the best of our knowledge, this is roughly the same pattern that the speech followed. “His speech, set to begin at 8 p.m. ET, is meant to open the next chapter of the coronavirus pandemic, taking stock of the worst year in recent memory while projecting hope the next one will be better.
Using his executive authority, Biden will say that all states, tribes and territories must make all adults eligible for the vaccine by the start of May. He will use the July 4 holiday as a target date by which all Americans can gather in small groups with family and friends,” CNN reported.
“The President will talk about small gatherings, like a barbecue in your backyard, in your neighborhood,” a senior administration official said. “He will be clear that does not mean large events where lots of people gather. But it does mean that we can once again have an Independence Day with small gatherings and celebrations and that’s a big step in the right direction.”
A separate official said Biden would warn Americans that reaching the July 4 goal will require continued vigilance about wearing masks, socially distancing and getting a vaccine when eligible,” they shared.
So far, it seems as if states are well-positioned to beat the Biden deadline. Alaska has already opened up vaccinations to all adults. It stands to reason that other states would be able to repeat their success. More and more manufacturing capacity has come online and this is allowing America to produce vaccines at the proper rate. Within weeks, we should be more worried about the possibility of a glut than a shortage.
The July 4th target date is probably a bit more conservative than necessary, too. If everyone is receiving vaccinations by May 1, we should be able to get back into the swing of things a lot earlier than that. Outdoor activities were always considered safe, even before now. We don’t see why they wouldn’t be acceptable once people are vaccinated at a higher number.
Those who live in a cold-weather location are going to want to be outside as early as they can. These folks won’t want to wait until the summer is already more than halfway over before they start to enjoy themselves again. Biden is keeping things ambiguous at the moment and we are sure that he will continue to do just that. On one hand, its infuriating. On the other, he clearly seems terrified to make any sort of false promise that gets people’s hopes up too high. The State of the Union speech will have to wait in the meantime.
He is expected to deliver this speech within the next few weeks and we are anxious about what comes next here. There are rumblings that the next speech will be given remotely, which makes a decent amount of sense. There are still lots of fears in the Biden administration about what would happen if they were to have a State of the Union address under normal circumstances. That’s their own fault but that’s another story for another time!
