Coronavirus Watch: Feds tell states to offer vaccine to all adults by May 1
Federal officials have directed states to open up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1 as the nation currently administers more than 2 million shots per day, with a rate of more than 3 million per day expected in the next week.
The news comes days after President Joe Biden set the May 1 target – and a goal that on July 4 Americans will "not only mark our independence as a nation but our independence from this virus."
Ohio, Massachusetts, Iowa and Connecticut are among the latest states to announce plans to soon offer vaccines to all adults in their state.
It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know today, as of 2:30 p.m. EDT.
- The IRS tax deadline is changing with taxes expected to be due mid-May, reports say.
- A major wave of stimulus checks went out on Wednesday, with payments of up to $1,400 going out to more than 90 million Americans, according to the IRS. Here's where to see if a payment has been sent to you.
- "It's easy to scare people": Europe's decision to pull AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine threatens global COVID-19 recovery efforts, US experts say.
- Coronavirus variants continue to spread in the U.S., with more than 1,000 new cases reported in a five-day span, a Paste BN analysis of CDC data shows. The nation now has 4,855 known variant cases, up 27% in less than a week.
- Disneyland is set to reopen April 30 more than a yearlong closure, but only California residents will have access at first.
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– Jay Cannon, Paste BN Network and Wires Editor, @JayTCannon on Twitter.