Biden Tells States to Make All Adults Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine by May 1

President Biden urged U.S. states to extend COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1, reports the Wall Street Journal . "If we do this together, by July the Fourth, there's a good chance you, your families, and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day," he declared during a Thursday night address. The president on the same day signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Biden stressed that whether Americans will be able to congregate in small groups by early July depends on the vaccination effort's success. "I will not relent until we beat this virus, but I need you, the American people," he emphasized. "There is hope and light and better days ahead, if we all do our part." Although the White House has let states dictate who is prioritized for vaccination for the most part, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the administration has "full authority" to authorize that vaccines supplied to states by the federal government be distributed in accordance with its guidelines.