U.S. on pace to clear Biden’s new goal of 200 million coronavirus vaccinations in his first 100 days

President Biden’s initial COVID-19 vaccination pledge to administer 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office was met 42 days early, prompting him to double the goal to 200 million on Thursday. He now wants 200 million doses to be administered by April 30. The nation is already on track to meet the revised target, as the 7-day average of daily vaccinations surpasses 2.5 million. Vaccine supply is also predicted to increase in April, prompting numerous states to open eligibility to all individuals aged 16 years and older. Biden’s new target is based on the assumption that the United States will keep pace with its current rate of immunizations. Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, asserts that to halt transmission, approximately 80% of the population has to be immunized, which translates into about 260 million people. That would require the daily administration rate of 3 million to 3.5 million doses per day until April 30.