WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses nation on one-year anniversary of Covid-19 shutdowns — 3/11/2021

President Joe Biden addresses the country on the one-year anniversary of the nationwide Covid-19 shutdown and speaks to the progress his administration has made in getting Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus.

President Joe Biden is set to announce Thursday evening that he will direct states to make all adults eligible for the Covid vaccines by May 1.

Biden, in his first primetime address to the nation, is also expected to say that Americans should be able to gather in small groups to celebrate the Fourth of July, a senior administration official told reporters Thursday.

“He will be clear that that does not mean large events where lots of people gather, but it does mean that we can once again have an independence day with small gatherings and celebrations,” the official told reporters ahead of the speech.

“And that’s a big step in the right direction,” the official added. “We believe that if we do our part we’ll be in a much better place by Independence Day, and we can start to resume more of our normal activities.”

Biden’s address is scheduled for just after 8 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast from the East Room of the White House. The speech is expected to last less than 20 minutes.

The primetime event comes hours after Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, which he had aggressively pushed Congress to pass during his first 50 days in office.

Biden’s remarks come as the United States administered a record number of vaccines over the weekend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administered 2.9 million vaccines on Saturday, a record, and 2.4 million on Sunday, according to the agency’s latest tally. The numbers are subject to revisions as more data becomes available to public health officials.

Biden is set to embark on a nationwide tour next week to tout the first major legislative accomplishment of his administration. The president will depart Tuesday for Delaware County in Pennsylvania, an electoral swing state that was key to Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump.

Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will “lay out some more specifics” of how the administration will fight the virus moving forward.

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WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses nation on one-year anniversary of Covid-19 shutdowns — 3/11/2021

[ryanlechlitner]

We didn’t close our businesses, politicians did.

[kiamichiozarks]

Remember when Obama never let Biden speak? Now we know why.

[lancemccain]

How can he lie so willfully? It's just painful to listen to this garbage.

[seankuhn]

I don't think I can physically watch this whole thing.

[johnmacmillan]

One would think 81 million votes would help with that tremendous dislike to like ratio.

[Elaine]

If covid 19 is so important then why did only 9% of the stimulus package go to covid 19? Where did the rest go?

[carolp]

10K likes 26K deslikes. CNN: "he is the most voted president of USA."...yes sure ...(irony)

[raawesome]

Damn. That's a huge dislike ratio.

[squelchtheory]

Thank you so much for leaving the comment section open. The White House comment section is where I would vent but sadly they close it so quickly.

[brandonturk]

I don't think that there is any other legitimate way to earn money nowadays rather than investing

[commonlinkproductions]

The most Popular President in History to Youtube comments: "Come on, Maaan!"

[moth]

Impeach him. He obviously doesn't know where he is

[donnakuhl]

If I die early..they came for me for expressing my thoughts

[rickpontificates]

“Joe Biden is like your uncle on a new drug and they haven’t got the dosage right yet.” -Robin Williams

[jamtariusjjjohnson]

I’m old enough to remember when Kamala said she believed Joe’s accusers...

[Ayeote]

"You can't go into a public place without showing your Immunization Record. But you can run across the border and bring your Covid with you!"

[thecrazychildren]

There's a genocide in China that He refuses to condemn, just wanted to remind everyone.

[hobokendavid]

They cut the beginning. He “f’d up from the beginning. What a tool.

[港完]

When are you gonna santion Xijing ping for his violation of human right in hk?

[turnkeyconstruction]

This wasn’t live. What a joke. Media is complicit in this charade.