Biden says US will surpass goal of 100 million shots in 100 days; storm delays vaccinations

Biden says US will surpass goal of 100 million shots in 100 days; storm delays vaccinations: Latest COVID-19 updates. A winter storm with icy roads and dangerously low temperatures was delaying shipments of vaccines to Florida and Texas. Latest COVID-19 updates. YahooNews

President Joe Biden expressed optimism Tuesday that the U.S. vaccine rollout will surpass forecasts, although a massive winter storm was stalling efforts to deliver shots this week.

"Before I took office, I set a big goal of administering 100 million shots in the first 100 days," Biden tweeted Tuesday. "With the progress we’re making I believe we’ll not only reach that, we’ll break it."

Experts have argued that Biden’s goal may not be enough to get the nation to the point where vaccines are readily available by spring. Vaccines must be manufactured, shipped and jabbed much more quickly, they say. Dr. Anthony Fauci said last week that it would be “open season” for all Americans who want the vaccine by April.

But the timeline remains unclear since the rollout has been marred by a lack of supply, forcing vaccination sites to shut down and leading to long lines and thousands of people on waiting lists. Biden has also said previously most Americans won't be vaccinated until the end of the summer.

On Tuesday, the winter storm driving icy roads, power outages and dangerously low temperatures across much of the nation was snarling traffic from coast to coast and delaying vaccine shipments.

Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said the state has been alerted that shipments were being delayed. It was unclear how many doses would be affected and when deliveries would resume.

Texas state health officials, due to receive more than 400,000 additional vaccine doses this week, don't expect deliveries until at least Wednesday. And vaccine appointments in Houston and Austin were expected to be canceled again Tuesday because of the severe winter weather.

In Illinois, all vaccination and testing sites operated by the city of Chicago closed Tuesday because of the city's largest snowfall of the year. More than a hundred providers in Chicago did not receive their expected vaccine shipments Tuesday, said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. ...