Biden: US to hit 100 million shot goal on Friday

President Joe Biden wants Americans to wear masks "until everyone is in fact vaccinated", indefinitely extending his previous request past the allotted 100 days. We will not stop until we have beat this pandemic. "That's why I'm asking the American people to mask up for the first 100 days", Biden said. In the final days of then-President Donald Trump's administration, almost 1 million shots were being administered per day, the daily average Biden needed to hit in order to meet his goal. "I need all Americans to do your part by washing your hands, stay socially distanced, keep masking up as recommended by the CDC and get vaccinated when it's your turn". In an update provided Thursday, Biden said that while the number is encouraging, the country still has much work to do before it can declare victory against the virus.

Of those doses, more than 96 million have been administered since Biden took office on January 20.

Dr. Marty Makary predicts coronavirus will be mostly gone by April as a result of vaccinations and herd immunity.

The president said it's not a time for Americans to let their guard down regarding the virus.

The White House said just seven million of the AstraZeneca doses are ready for shipment.

This also comes as the US House of Representatives last week approved the Senate-passed version of Biden's United States dollars 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, called by him as the "American Rescue Plan".

Axios previously reported that Biden was briefed on the need for 20,000 additional beds to shelter the children expected to arrive at the border this year.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 66 percent of people aged 65 or older have received at least one shot, and 38 percent are fully vaccinated.

He said he would announce his next vaccination goal next week.

Last week, Biden announced he was directing states to lift age and occupation restrictions on the vaccine by May 1, and that the US would have supplies to vaccinate all Americans by the end of May.