Will the Biden Administration Speed Up Vaccine Rollout?

The vaccine rollout in the U.S. has been very rocky so far, with most states falling far short of their vaccine distribution goals. President-Elect Joe Biden plans to ramp up vaccine distribution rapidly upon taking office this Wednesday, aiming to administer 100 million vaccines by the end of his first 100 days in office. Here’s what you need to know about how.

Biden Plans to Enact the Defense Production Act

The Defense Production Act is a law that gives the U.S. president the authority to compel private companies to produce more of materials needed for national defense. It is traditionally reserved for wartime needs, but Biden plans to use it to ramp up the supplies needed for vaccine distribution. That includes the vaccine supply itself, but also syringes, tubes, PPE, and equipment to keep the vaccine at the right temperature (Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be kept very cold to be effective).

Biden Plans to Utilize the National Guard, FEMA and Retired Health Workers

To help states distribute the vaccine quickly, Biden plans to deploy thousands of National Guard and FEMA workers to administer the vaccine in community clinics and mass vaccination sites. Biden’s Administration will also be working with trained volunteers, such as retired healthcare workers, to distribute vaccines.

The administration plans to open up thousands of community vaccination sites in pharmacies, clinics and other public settings where Americans can get the vaccine at no cost.

Biden Plans to Give More Power to States

The president-elect stated in a press conference on Friday that a key part of his administration’s vaccine rollout will be giving states the power to distribute more vaccines and have control over the prioritization tiers that they use. “We’ll fix the problem by encouraging states to allow more people to get vaccinated beyond health care workers and move through these groups as quickly as states think they can. That includes anyone 65 and older," he explained.

States will be able to open up their vaccination programs to more people as they see fit, which might include older people, immunocompromised people, or high-risk populations like the homeless or incarcerated.

For more vaccine information, download the Skip app at TrackVaccineProgress.com. You will be able to see which vaccine tier you’re in and track how many people have been vaccinated so far. You'll also be able to see the latest news on stimulus and small business funding.