Biden Visits Alexandria Vaccine Site, Sets New Eligibility Date

ALEXANDRIA, VA — President Joe Biden visited a COVID-19 vaccination site in Alexandria on Tuesday, the same day he announced a new date for expanding vaccine eligibility to all adults.

The president visited a vaccination clinic run by Neighborhood Health at Immanuel Chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary. The visit highlighted Neighborhood Health's work as a federally qualified health center serving low-income and uninsured residents. According to a news release from Neighborhood Health, Biden toured the clinic and spoke with staff and members of the faith community who have worked to ensure equity in the vaccine rollout.

"That's the way to beat this. Get the vaccination when you can," Biden told patients waiting for their vaccine. "Thank you for coming in and doing it."

Biden returned to the White House to announce that states are directed to expand vaccine eligibility to all people age 16 and up by April 19. That's earlier than the original May 1 deadline he set for states.

Virginia is on track to expand access to residents 16 and up before the president's deadline. Last week, Gov. Ralph Northam announced local health districts should expand eligibility to phase 2, or everyone 16 and older, by April 18. Numerous health districts have already started that phase 2, according to the Virginia Department of Health's tracker.

Neighborhood Health is one of 250 health centers in the nation chosen for the Biden administration's Community Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program. The health center runs seven vaccination sites in areas accessible to underserved communities in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County. These sites are open only to low-income patients and people referred from partner organizations. It has received over 8,000 referrals from community partners, including from African American churches, organizations serving Latino and Asian communities, and agencies focused on food assistance, legal aid, affordable housing, tenants’ rights and social services.

To date, the health center has given 19,000 vaccine doses, and of those who reported race and ethnicity, 85 percent were people of color.

"We are grateful to our dedicated staff, volunteers, and partners in the faith community, non-profits, and local government who are working together to vaccinate the communities that have been most impacted by COVID-19," said Dr. Basim Khan, executive director of Neighborhood Health. "We are honored that President Biden chose to visit one of our vaccine sites."

The president also announced that the U.S. has reached a milestone of 150 million vaccine doses administered since he was sworn into office Jan. 20. The federal government's response builds on the former Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed to accelerate development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines received emergency use authorization in December, followed by the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in late February.

In Virginia alone, over 4 million COVID-19 doses have been administered since vaccines first became available in December. Based on a state population of 8.5 million, 33.2 percent of Virginia's population has at least one vaccine dose, and 18.4 percent has been fully vaccinated.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.