JUDY WOODRUFF: We look now at President Biden's address to the nation tonight.
Our Yamiche Alcindor is at the White House with the very latest.
So, hello, Yamiche.
You have learned a little more about this bill that the president signed this afternoon and
what he's going to say about it tonight and how he's going to talk about where we go from here.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.
The president is going to be making a series of big announcements tonight, as he
has his first prime-time address to the nation to mark the one-year
anniversary of COVID lockdowns in the United States.
The first big thing that he's going to be talking about is putting the nation on a path
towards closer to normal by July 4. It doesn't mean that we're going to have big concerts,
but he's going to be talking about small indoor gatherings and making
things look a little bit more normal than they were before the pandemic hit.
He's also going to be saying that he's going to be using federal authority to direct
all states to make all American adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1. That
doesn't mean that everyone will be able to get a vaccine by May 1, but that will mean that all
adults in America will be eligible to get one. The administration and the president will be
saying that he expects to have enough vaccines to vaccinate all Americans by the end of May.
The president is also going to be saying that he's going to be increasing the number
of vaccination sites and vaccinators. To that point, he's going to be announcing
that 4,000 troops, active-duty troops, will be deployed to support vaccination efforts.
The president's also going to be saying that there's a new government Web site
that will be launched to help people make appointments for vaccines. This
has been something that's been really problematic.
And, of course, he's going to be touting the new law that he signed today,
that $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Yamiche, you were telling us this is a part
of a big push they are making on vaccine distribution. What is the latest on that?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.
There is a big bipartisan push afoot to really convince Americans that these vaccines are normal
and are safe for them to take. Today, there were a number of presidents who put out
a public service announcement. We heard from President Obama,
President Bush, President Carter, and President Clinton.
Here's what they had to say.
BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States:
So, we urge you to get vaccinated when it's available to you to.
GEORGE W. BUSH, Former President of the United States: So, roll up your sleeve and do your part.
BILL CLINTON, Former President of the United States: This is our shot.
JIMMY CARTER, Former President of the United States: Now it's up to you.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Despite that push, what we're seeing is a
number of Americans saying that they are still very hesitant to get this vaccine.
Today, we released a new poll from "PBS NewsHour," NPR and the Marist -- and Marist poll. Here's what
some Americans said; 30 percent of all Americans say they will not -- they will not choose to
be vaccinated. Of that, 25 percent of Black Americans said they would not get the vaccine,
and 49 percent of Republican men said they will not choose to get the vaccine.
That being said, about 67 percent of people say that they already have gotten the vaccine
or plan to get the vaccine. But those numbers are striking. We have talked a lot about the vaccine
hesitancy among African Americans and among people of color. But here we see GOP men,
GOP voters also very hesitant, so there's a lot of work to be done,
as we see those first ladies and former presidents with their message.
JUDY WOODRUFF: No question.
I did ask the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, about
the large number of Republican men reluctant to get the vaccine. And he made a point of
saying that he believes in the vaccine and believes everyone should have it.
But, finally, Yamiche, I want to ask you about immigration. We know there is an increasingly
large number of immigrants coming -- attempting to come across the
Southern border, including a large number of unaccompanied children.
What is the Biden administration saying about that today?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.
The numbers at the border are spiking. This is another issue, really a dual challenge
that the president is having to contend with, as he deals with the coronavirus pandemic. The
White House is saying they don't want to call it a crisis. They call it a human challenge.
But what we see is a large number of unaccompanied minors
coming into the United States and being held in facilities that are not made for
children. They're being held in jail-like facilities. They're also being held past
the number of days that the law says that they should be held in those facilities.
There are a number of White House officials who went down to the border. They're now trying to
scramble to get a really a plan in place. But this is really a logistics and facilities
problem here. So, the president's going to be talking about that later on this week.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, Yamiche Alcindor at the White House, thank you very much.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Thank you.