All adult Americans now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

As of Monday, all Americans age 16 or older are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

This milestone meets President Biden’s pledge two weeks ago that all would be eligible by April 19, reports The New York Times.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that 131 million people – half of U.S. adults – have already been inoculated with at least one dose of the vaccine. In addition, the U.S. is administering more than 3 million doses daily.

"For months I’ve been telling Americans to get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Well, it’s your turn, now," Biden said Sunday on a program called "Roll Up Your Sleeves" on NBC. "It’s free. It’s convenient and it’s the most important thing you can do to protect yourself from Covid-19."

Dr. Nandita Mani, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington Medical Center, told the Times: "It’s truly historic that we have already reached this milestone.” 

While the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two shots, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration on April 13 recommended a pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to reports of several people suffering a blood clot after receiving the vaccination. 

The pause appears to have resulted in some loss of confidence the safety of getting vaccinated.

"One of the most important reasons why people have hesitancy is they're concerned about the safety. The very fact that you have an organization, two organizations, the CDC and the FDA, looking so carefully at this, making safety the primary concern, in my mind, confirms or underscores the situation that we take safety very seriously," said Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease doctor following the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.