During his first prime-time address to the nation on Thursday, March 11, President Joe Biden laid out his plan to accelerate the reopening of the American economy, designating Sunday, July 4, as the target date.  

In addition to his July 4 goal, Biden said he would work to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to all adults by May 1.

“Tonight, I am announcing that I will direct all states, tribes, and territories to make all adult Americans eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1,” the President said during a national address in March 11. 

On the same day he signed the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, Biden provided the nation with a five-step plan that would, “get our economy back on track.” 

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis responded to the president’s plans, sayinh she was grateful for the quick action to bring much needed aid to families in Los Angeles. 

“The County will put forth a spending plan after funding requirements are provided. After a year of tragic loss and economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan will help our nation begin to recover and rebuild,” Solis said in a statement. 

In fact, the White House Press Secretary Jen Pskai announced the Americans should expect stimulus payments to begin arriving as soon as this weekend. 

“People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend,” Pskai said. “This is of course just the first wave…and payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks.”

During his address Thursday evening, Biden detailed his plan in terms of priority. The president says he is putting the utmost focus on vaccinating adults by May 1. In tandem, Biden added that the development of new vaccination location tools will be paramount to this vaccination effort.

As a third priority to reopening on July 4, is to vaccinate school employees. The last steps were less clear, as the president said Americans would await further guidance that would determine, “what can be done once fully vaccinated.” 

Los Angeles County will likely qualify to enter the “Red Tier” of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy sometime this weekend, and being in the tier comes with a slew of reopening and higher capacity activities.

“The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health anticipates qualifying for the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy less restrictive red tier that allows for additional re-openings between Monday, March 15 at 12:01 a.m. and Wednesday, March 17,” L.A. Public Health said in a statement. “The exact date depends on when 2 million doses have been administered to people in the most under-resourced communities across the state.”

As of Thursday, March 11, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 1,378 new COVID-19 cases with 101 new COVID-19 deaths.

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