President Biden Unveils COVID-19 Vaccine Plan

January 22, 2021

In an effort to speed up vaccinations after a slower than expected rollout, HHS last week began encouraging states to start vaccinating individuals 65 and older, along with those ages 16 and older with comorbidities.

Meanwhile President Biden unveiled a COVID-19 vaccination plan which aims to pick up the pace of vaccinations by creating federal vaccination sites, mobile vaccination sites, ramping up the production of vials and syringes using the Defense Production Act, and increasing funding to state and local health departments. Biden has said his short-term goal is to administer 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office. That would require at least 1 million vaccinations per day.

Biden’s plan would also reimburse states for the use of the National Guard and provides 100% cost match for state and local emergency costs through FEMA.

Biden made Jeffrey Zients, who served as the director of the National Economic Council under the Obama administration, his COVID-19 response coordinator and Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, who served in the first Bush and Clinton administrations, will be the top science official overseeing the vaccination drive.