We knew on day two of Joe Biden’s presidency that his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans by his 100th day in office was setting the bar too low. By that date, 16.5 million shots had gone out, 6.5 million alone in the six days beforehand, and the daily rate of shots was growing at a rapid clip. Biden supercharged the effort by directing federal agencies to wield the powerful Defense Production Act to accelerate manufacture of vaccines, PPE and other COVID supplies.
Now Biden’s setting a new goal, aiming to vaccinate 200 million Americans by May 1, nearly two-thirds of the country’s population. But just like his earlier goal, 200 million doses in the next five weeks isn’t particularly ambitious.
More than 130 million shots have already been done. The U.S. is averaging 2.5 million daily, a rate that’s nearly tripled under Biden. Even if the pace stopped accelerating, the 200-million milestone would be done a full week before his 100th day in office. Biden should aim higher.
Speed counts. This isn’t the Indy 500, where the fastest finisher has his face added to the Borg-Warner Trophy. We’re racing to deliver more shots faster to outrun the virus, which is rapidly mutating, perhaps thwarting the vaccines.
Medical studies haven’t confirmed it yet, but scientists strongly suspect the Pfizer and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots don’t just protect the person vaccinated from getting super-sick with COVID, they also likely stop transmission of the disease. That means each vaccination is like laying another brick in a fortress wall we’re building to keep COVID out. With enough vaccinations, likely somewhere between 75% and 90%, we reach the magical state of “herd immunity,” when so many people are vaccinated that the virus runs out of fresh hosts and stops reproducing, giving the protection of a vaccination to everyone, including those who’ve not yet gotten the shot.
A loftier, more inspiring goal would be 250 million, even 300 million shots by May 1.
