President Biden will announce Tuesday that he is shaving about two weeks off his May 1 deadline for states to expand coronavirus eligibility to all adults.
With states gradually expanding eligibility beyond such priority groups as older people and essential, front-line workers, the president plans to announce that every adult in the U.S. will be eligible by April 19 to be vaccinated, a White House official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s plans before the formal announcement. Biden was scheduled to make the announcement during his visit to COVID-19 vaccination site in Virginia.
April 19 is about two weeks earlier than Biden’s original May 1 deadline.
California has already announced it will open eligibility to anyone over the age of 16 on April 15 all Californians above 50 qualify for a vaccination since April 1. Some counties in the Bay Area, like Contra Costa, are ahead of both state and federal deadlines and already permit all adults to be vaccinated.