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Sunday, Oct 18, 2026

Biden promises ‘summer of freedom’ as he urges US to get vaccinated

Biden promises ‘summer of freedom’ as he urges US to get vaccinated

Joe Biden has promised “a summer of freedom” as he urged more Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus.

Joe Biden has promised “a summer of freedom” as he urged more Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus.

The US President outlined his administration’s new efforts to make it easier than ever for Americans to get their coronavirus vaccinations.

Among other initiatives, four of the largest US childcare providers will offer free childcare for caregivers who are getting the vaccine or recovering after their jab.

Mr Biden emphasised that vaccine rollout can allow Americans to enjoy a summer in which they can gather with loved ones safely, without fear of Covid.

“America is heading into a summer dramatically different from last year’s summer,” Mr Biden said on Wednesday.

“A summer of freedom. A summer of joy. A summer of get-togethers and celebrations.

“An all-American summer that this country deserves after a long, long dark winter that we have all endured.”

The president also said that Americans are lucky to have access to the vaccines.

“All over the world,” he said, “people are desperate to get a shot that every American can get at their neighbourhood drugstore.”

He is closing in on his goal of getting 70 per cent of adults at least partially vaccinated by Independence Day.

This pledge is seen as essential to his aim of returning the nation to something approaching a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy this summer.

"We're looking at June as a critical month in our path to normal and as a critical month in order to continue the progress we're making in our vaccination campaign," Courtney Rowe of the White House Covid response team said.

The White House said Mr Biden's plan will continue to use public and private-sector partnerships, mirroring the "whole of government" effort he deployed to make vaccines more widely available after he took office.

The White House is partnering with early childhood centres to provide free childcare coverage for Americans looking for shots or needing assistance while recovering from side effects.

The administration is also launching a new partnership to bring vaccine education and even doses to more than a thousand black-owned barbershops and beauty salons, building on a successful pilot programme in Maryland.

Aiming to make injections even more convenient, Biden is announcing that many pharmacies are extending their hours this month. Thousands will remain open overnight on Fridays.

The White House is also stepping up its efforts to help employers run on-site vaccination clinics.

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