U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that he aims to get the nation closer to "normal" in July by beefing up efforts to vaccinate the public against the novel coronavirus and reopen schools.
In his first prime-time address since taking office in January, Biden said he will direct states across the country to make all adults eligible for vaccinations by May 1, and set the July 4 Independence Day as the day to mark the "independence from the virus."
"I need you to get vaccinated when it's your turn...If we do our part, if we do this together, by July 4 there's a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day," he said.
His speech came after he signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package to support businesses and households battered by the pandemic, a major legislative win for an administration that is less than two months old.
The package will deliver checks of up to $1,400 per person to most households, making it the third round of direct payments provided amid the health crisis that has continued for about a year.
It will also assist efforts to combat the pandemic by such means as providing funding to set up community coronavirus vaccination sites nationwide, extend unemployment benefits and support schools to reopen safely.
"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country," Biden said as he signed the American Rescue Plan Act at the White House.
In March last year, the country rolled out a $2.2 trillion relief package, which amounted to roughly 10 percent of gross domestic product and was the largest stimulus of its kind in U.S. history. In December, a $900 billion relief package was signed into law.
Biden, who was sworn in on Jan. 20, had vowed to send the $1,400 checks to households across America on top of the $600 payment provided through the December relief package.
Under a compromise agreement, no one earning more than $80,000 a year will be eligible for the $1,400 direct payment.
Biden, a Democrat, included in his original proposal an increase of the minimum wage to $15 per hour. But the measure did not make its way into the amended bill that passed the Senate, a chamber evenly divided between the Democrats and Republicans.
The bill was sent to the House of Representatives and approved Wednesday.
The United States is the country worst affected by the pandemic. Of its population of over 300 million, nearly 30 million have been infected with the virus and more than 530,000 people have died as a result, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Vaccination in the country started in December and currently about 10 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated, according to data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Millions of Americans, meanwhile, have remained out of work as the virus outbreak has continued to weigh on business and other activities in the world's largest economy.
