Biden announces 9 in 10 adults will be eligible by mid-April for COVID inoculations

Joe Biden announced Monday that 90% of American adults will be eligible for their coronavirus vaccine by April 19 – but eligibility doesn’t ensure individuals will be able to get inoculated any times soon as states struggle with low stock and appointment restrictions.

The plan is to ‘get more people vaccinated quickly,’ according to the White House. It’s unclear, however, if the processes, wait times and appointment windows for vaccination will improve with the expansion of those eligible.

The president will detail in remarks Monday afternoon that the U.S. will more than double the amount of pharmacies where shots are administered.

When inaugurated, Biden set a goal of getting 100 million people vaccination in his first 100 days in office. With a successful vaccination rollout, Biden has now doubled that goal to 200 million in his first 100 days as president. 

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that all American adults will be eligible to receive a coroanvirus vaccine by April 19

With already long waits and vaccine and appointment shortages, it’s unclear if eligibility will also increase and improve access

Biden recently double his goal to getting 200 million vaccine doses in the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office

Despite a largely positive outlook on the vaccine situation in the U.S., several states that have opened up inoculations for all adults are facing troubles. 

Biden’s announcement comes as more than a dozen states have already opened vaccination eligibility to those above the age or either 16 or 18, depending on the state.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday that all Texans 16 and older – about 22 million people – are now able to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. However, as eligibility expands in the state, getting the shot in the arm has become increasingly difficult.

Vaccine doses are running on short supply in the Lone Star State and it takes weeks, sometimes months, to secure an appointment to get inoculated.

After already administering more than 10 million vaccine doses, Texas is expected to receive more than 1 million first doses this week.

Minnesota also announced this month vaccine eligibility will expand to all those 16 and older on March 30.

Finding an appointment for vaccination there is also a daunting task.

Minneapolis Vaccine Hunters in a Facebook group of 40,000 people dedicated to finding and compiling accurate and up-to-date information on where to find vaccine appointments in the area.

In several states like Texas and Minnesota where vaccines are in short supply by high demand, many have taken to sitting on webpages and refreshing throughout the day to try and snag an appointment.

Some states have already opened up vaccinations to all citizens 16 or 18 years and older

But some states have shortages, and are unable to schedule inoculation appointments as quickly as people are requesting them and becoming eligible

In some states, getting an appointment is less of an issue, but wait times at the inoculation sites span into several hours.

West Virginia, Alaska, Texas and Mississippi already allow all adults to receive the shot while future plans for the same move are in place for Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Minnesota and others.

Other states are keeping the process a bit more restrictive, including hard-hit areas like New York and Florida.