When President Biden took office 150 days ago, more than 3,300 Americans were dying each day, more than 185,000 Americans were infected with COVID-19 cases a day, and the economy had lost millions of jobs.

Today, thanks to the President’s COVID-19 strategy, the virus is in retreat. 300 million shots have been administered in 150 days, COVID-19 cases and deaths have decreased by more than 90 percent, and the economy is experiencing the strongest rebound in decades.

This did not happen by accident. The President committed to the American people that he would confront this unprecedented challenge with the full strength and capabilities of the federal government. Each day since taking office, the President has done just that – mobilizing a whole-of-government, wartime effort to defeat COVID-19. And, he has brought all Americans, including public and private sector leaders, together and asked them to do their part.

The results are clear: America is starting to look like America again, and entering a summer of joy and freedom.

300 Million Shots in 150 Days

When President Biden took office, about 5% of adult Americans had gotten vaccinated. At the pace the U.S. was vaccinating in January, it would have taken 336 days to get to 300 million shots in arms. And, inadequate vaccine supply, vaccinators, and places to get vaccinated severely limited Americans’ access to vaccines.

Thanks to the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government effort to stand up a first-of-its-kind, best-in-class nationwide vaccination program, today, more than 175 million Americans have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Importantly, this progress on vaccinations has brought COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths down to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic last year. It’s curbed the spread of the virus, saved tens of thousands of lives, and allowed tens of millions of Americans to get back to living their life.

This is a direct result of the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government, wartime effort that focused on:

Securing enough supply for all Americans and getting it out the door as quickly as possible. When President Biden took office, there was not enough vaccine supply for all Americans, and states were not getting the supply allocation and delivery timeline information they requested and needed to be successful. Thanks to the President’s aggressive actions, the Biden Administration secured enough supply for all Americans, dramatically increased supply to states, and gave states more visibility into allocation numbers to allow for better planning to get shots into arms much faster. This allowed the President to make all adults eligible for vaccination in mid-April – months ahead of expectations – and has positioned the U.S. to help lead the global efforts to vaccinate the world.

Mobilizing Americans to get shots in arms. The Biden Administration has deployed over 9,000 federal personnel to support vaccinations, including over 5,100 active duty troops. A total of 2,500 federal staff have served as vaccinators. Thanks in part to the American Rescue Plan, the Administration has funded over 30,000 National Guard members who have supported COVID-19 response efforts in states and territories, with 2,300 National Guard members serving as vaccinators. The President also used his authority under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to permit additional health care providers, including retired doctors and dentists, to administer shots in arms across the country.

Dramatically increasing the number of vaccination sites so that at least 90% of Americans have access to a shot within 5 miles of where they live. Today, with more than 81,000 vaccination sites in communities across the country, and thousands of sites offering no-appointment, walk-in vaccinations, it has never been easier to get vaccinated in America. The Biden Administration achieved this by:

Advancing equity. The Biden Administration has put equity at the center of every aspect of its response, including its vaccination program. More than 70% of the shots provided to community health centers through the federal program have been administered to people of color and more than 58% of the shots administered at federally-run sites have gone to people of color. More than 40% of pharmacies participating in the federal program are located in high-risk zip codes, and pharmacies have conducted over 8,100 pop-up vaccination clinics to support vaccination of essential workers and other communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. And, in the past month alone, people of color have accounted for 54% of nationwide vaccinations, while only making up 40% of the U.S. population. The Biden Administration is also:

Ensuring getting vaccinated is easy and convenient and that the American people have the information and confidence they need to get vaccinated.Thanks in part to the ARP, the Biden Administration has provided more than $4 billion to state and local health agencies, national, community- and faith-based organizations to conduct vaccine education and outreach efforts in communities across the country and build Americans’ confidence in the vaccines. In addition, the Administration has worked with the private and public sector to provide Americans free transportation to and from vaccine sites, increase the availability of no-appointment, walk-in vaccinations, and promote paid time-off and free child care for vaccinations, and much more.  These efforts have paid off: At the beginning of this year, only 34% of Americans wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Five months later, we not only increased that number dramatically, the Biden Administration has vaccinated 65% of adults.

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