Biden touts 100 million vaccine doses since taking office, mistakenly refers to 'President Harris'

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there have been more than 115 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered so far in the U.S.
President Biden on March 18, 2021

President Biden announced on Thursday that on Friday the administration will arrive at the goal of 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots administered within the first 100 days of his term.

"Tomorrow, we will hit 100 million doses our administration has administered. But I've always said, that's just the floor. We will not stop until we beat this pandemic. Next week I will announce our next goal to put shots in arms. This is a time for optimism, but it's not a time for relaxation. I need all Americans, I need all of you to do your part. Wash your hands. Stay socially distanced. Keep masking up as recommended by the CDC. And get vaccinated when it's your turn," Biden said.

Former HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, who served under President Trump, spoke on Fox News immediately after Biden's remarks:

"Look, we had already given a pace of one million per day by the time the inauguration hit," he said. "On January 20th we did 1.5 million. And if you just look at the Trump rollout plan, he should get 150 to 200 million doses within the first 100 days. So the fact that he's rewriting history and taking credit for all this just continues to amaze me. Great data for the country, this is a fabulous day, I support that," Giroir said, noting that "he's done some nice things. But this is really following the Operation Warp Speed plan."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there have been more than 115 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered so far in the U.S.

"According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, injections of 96 million doses have been reported to the agency since Biden's inauguration, but those reports lag the actual date of administration," the Associated Press reported. "Vaccination trend lines pointed to Biden breaking the 100 million mark on Thursday, with the numbers likely to be confirmed by the CDC as soon as Friday," the outlet said.

The wire service said that by the time President Biden entered office there had already been 20 million vaccine doses administered in the country. The AP also said that Biden upped his target to 150 million doses for his initial 100 days, though NBC News indicated that Biden then returned to his 100 million target.

"On Jan. 25, Biden upped his Covid-19 vaccination goal to 150 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office," NBC News noted. "Then Jan. 26, shortly after this article was first published, Biden backed away from 150 million and restated his 100 million goal. In the days and weeks before entering office, he said his goal was 100 million vaccinations," the outlet said.

A CDC chart titled "Cumulative Count of Total Doses Administered and Reported to the CDC by Date Administered, United States" indicates that there had been slightly more than 20.1 million doses administered as of Jan. 19, the day before Biden was sworn into office.

During his remarks on Thursday, Biden, who has previously admitted to being a "gaffe machine," mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "President Harris."

"Now, when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that tour, injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope," the president said.