Joe Biden to make vaccines open to all adults by April 19

President Joe Biden will announce on Tuesday that all adults across the United States will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccines by April 19 - well ahead of the already ambitious previous target. The White House said Biden is shifting the deadline for full eligibility from May 1 to April 19 after rapid progress in all 50 states in the vaccine rollouts.

A senior administration official, who did not want to be identified, said the announcement would be made by the president later Tuesday. If the target is met, this would mean an end to restrictions by age, health issues or other categories for people wanting to get coronavirus vaccines. It would not necessarily mean that anyone could get a shot immediately, as distribution remains a work in progress.

Biden was scheduled to visit a vaccination site in Virginia, just outside of Washington, on Tuesday, before delivering remarks on the topic at the White House. The Democrat immediately put mass vaccinations at the center of his agenda after taking office in a bid to quickly halt the pandemic and launch the US economy into a powerful comeback.