The administration also unveiled a new tax credit intended to encourage businesses with less than 500 employees to give paid workers time to be vaccinated – a policy included in Biden’s $ 1 relief package , 9 billion coronavirus, which was signed into law last month.
Businesses and nonprofits can receive a tax credit of up to $ 511 per day paid sick leave that employees take to take the chance or recover from its side effects from April 1 to September 30.
Biden also appeals to all employers, regardless of size, to offer paid leave for their workers to be vaccinated – as well as to encourage businesses to provide information on the shots and incentives to get them, such as product handouts or other rewards.
The announcements come as the government reaches a new turning point in its campaign to vaccinate more than 300 million Americans: supply begins to exceed demand, and appointments go unfinished in both rural areas and major cities.
The problem extends beyond vaccination and also extends to Americans who do not have easy access to the shot and also do not have the motivation to be vaccinated. Civil servants and federal officials say the focus now is on meeting people where they are.
“We are now approaching groups of people who are – just because they are younger, they are less at risk, and therefore the urgency may be a little lower,” an administration official told reporters on Wednesday. ‘It does not mean that they are reluctant to get the vaccine. It just means that it should be more convenient for them. ”
Before taking office, Biden undertook in December to administer 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days, along with the goal of opening most schools nationwide.
Later that month, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of two vaccines from drug manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna, and public health experts predicted that Biden’s vaccination target would be achievable as a result of the government’s shot.
But Biden expressed frustration over his coronavirus response team in January as transition officials became increasingly concerned about the 100-day timeline, citing internal divisions and the shortcomings of the Trump administration’s vaccination accelerator, Operation Warp Speed.
After Biden drew up its own plan for a large-scale vaccination program, the immunization effort received another boost from the FDA’s approval of the single-vaccine vaccine, drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, which opened a third option for US use in February. has.
By March, Biden had easily exceeded his goal of 100 million vaccinations within 100 days, and he later announced a new mission to double the target in the same period.
Over the past week, the government has faced unexpected challenges in its vaccination campaign – mainly the recommendation of the federal health authorities to discontinue the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as they investigate rare cases of blood clots in recipients.
Administration officials are also grappling with the stubborn issue of vaccinations against vaccines, especially among Republicans and younger, white Americans living in rural communities.
On Monday, all 50 states – as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico – met Biden’s deadline to make the vaccine available to American adults aged 16 and older, which the president calls “a new phase of this historic vaccination effort.” ”
“It’s your turn now for Americans 16 years and older. Now. So go get your vaccine before the end of May, ”said Biden. “We can do it. And we will do it as long as we do not disappoint.”