Biden says relief is on the way in prime-time address, with stimulus checks going out as soon as this weekend, vaccines for all adults by May 1

Joe Biden Stimulus — President Joe Biden speaks before signing the American Rescue Plan Act. The president will give a national address urging "hope" on the first anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden is giving his first prime-time address Thursday night since moving to the White House.
The speech marks the Democrats' $1.9 trillion stimulus package being signed into law.
$1,400 stimulus payments could be sent out as early as this weekend, The White House said.
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President Joe Biden is telling Americans that relief is on the way in his first prime-time address from the White House on Thursday, marking the passage this week of Democrats' $1.9 trillion stimulus package - and announcing that all US adults will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1.

The hope is to return to a pre-pandemic normal, or something close to it, by July 4.

"We all lost something," Biden said of the pandemic, noting the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans, as well as the loss of new memories that were not made. "It's the details of life that matter the most. And we miss those details," he said. "Weddings, birthdays, graduations."

To get there again, the Biden administration will double the number of federally run mass vaccination centers, including mobile operations and pop-up clinics, supported by more than 6,000 active-duty soldiers, senior White House officials told reporters.

Americans will also be able to locate vaccines in their area by using a new, centralized website. The president will also direct all states to make vaccines available to all adults "no later than May 1," he said, although administration officials cautioned that shouldn't be taken to mean they will all get one on or near that date.

"We'll have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May," Biden said Thursday night, pledging a new goal of at least administering at least two million doses a day. "That's months ahead of schedule."

Heralding the stimulus

Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law earlier on Thursday. He and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to go to Atlanta on Friday to tout the package, the passage of which was a major campaign theme for newly elected Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

"It's never a good bet to bet against America," Biden said. "America is coming back.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said $1,400 stimulus payments will be sent out "as early as this weekend."

The package also includes an extension of unemployment benefits, including an additional $300 a week in federal aid. It also includes an expanded child tax credit of up to $3,600 per child, available in monthly payments.

Subsidies for health insurance are also boosted under the legislation, which also provides six months of free coverage for those who have recently lost their employer-provided plan.

Although the stimulus package received no GOP support in Congress, polls suggest it enjoys broad support among the US public, including 6 in 10 Republican voters.

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