and in cdc director dr. rochelle walensky testified about the biden administration's covid response. live ed c-span3, or watch full coverage on c-span now, our new video app. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more. including comcast. >> comcast is partnering with community centers. so families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> president biden talked about

efforts to get children ages five to 11 vaccinated. and to make sure there were enough doses for every child in the u.s. this is 15 minutes. pres. biden: good afternoon, folks. let me get my mask here. today is a great day for american parents, american families, and american children. we are taking a giant step forward to further accelerate our path out of this pandemic. after months of rigorous and independent scientific review, the food and drug administration authorized, and the centers for disease control and prevention recommended that covid vaccine for children ages five through 11. for parents all over this country, this is the day of relief and celebration. after almost 18 months of

actions worried, if a child had a sniffle or a cough, and now 28 million young americans are eligible for the protection of the vaccine. my administration is ready, ready from day one, today. organized and have a plan for this vaccinations launch. as soon as next week, we will have enough vaccine, and enough places, and parents will be able to schedule appointments to get their kids their first shot. we've already secured enough vaccine supply for every single child in america ages five through 11. a few weeks ago, we asked sates and pharmacies to back together a detailed plan to start placing their orders for these specially formulated vaccines for young children. we started filling these orders last week. as soon as the fda authorize the vaccine. we've already sent millions of doses.

and millions more to come by next week. these doses will be available -- excuse me. swallowed wrong. [coughs] will be available in approximately 20,000 locations across the country. these include locations that parents know and trust. local pharmacies, pediatricians, family doctors and children's hospitals. many vaccine locations will offer sites -- times in weekends and evenings. we will also bring vaccines to schools. as of today, more than 6000 school lenexa have already been planned in districts around the country. these efforts will also ensure equity, that is as centered as

it has been for adults. we are providing it at rural health clinics and thousands of pharmacies. we are sending out mobile units to reach where the people are. the bottom line is we have been planning and preparing for months to vaccinate our children. our program will be ripping up this week, and -- ramping up this week, and more doses shipped out each day, so we are fully up and running by next week. i know many parents have been anxiously waiting for this day, but i also know that some families might have questions. so, trusted messengers like pediatricians, family doctors, will be able to answer questions, talk to parents about the importance of getting kids vaccinated and put your mind at ease. we are also raising awareness to

encourage vaccination. we are going to do everything we can to make these vaccines easily available, and to raise awareness of the importance of getting vaccinated. so parents of children ages five and older, please get them vaccinated. because here's the deal. children make up one quarter of the cases in this country. and while rare, children can get very sick from covid-19. and some, a view, can end up hospitalized. but they don't have to. this vaccine is safe and effective. so get your children vaccinated, to protect themselves, to protect others, and to stop the spread, and to help us beat this pandemic. today, i also want to speak to american seniors. while everyone is at risk of getting covid-19, the evidence is overwhelming. older americans are still by far the most vulnerable of getting

the sickest. and boosters at an important layer of detection. booster shots are free and effective. and every senior should get one. it's important. seniors are eligible to get your booster shot six months after you have been fully vaccinated, six months. if you got your second shot before may the first, you are eligible to get the booster right now. and i've made it clear. we have ample supply of boosters. thanks to our advanced preparation, our booster program is off to a strong start. over 20 million americans have now received a booster. in fact, we have gotten boosters to about half of the eligible seniors who the pfizer vaccine. in just six weeks. it took nearly 11 weeks to get half of all seniors their first shot when that program was launched in december of 2020. just during the prior administration.

this is a strong pace. to our seniors, if you're eligible, get your booster now. vaccines for children ages five to 11, and boosters provide protection for seniors and others, are two major steps forward that will accelerate our path out of this pandemic. this brings me to where we are going to go from here. since early september, cases and hospitalizations are down now more than 50%. but over the past two weeks, cases and hospitalizations are falling at approximately -- in approximately 40 states. a year ago, we had no vaccines. just this week, we had an important milestone. 80% of adults have at least one shot. that's four out of every five adults. and for our seniors, over 95%

have gone at least one shot. overall, 190 3 million americans are fully vaccinated, up from just 2 million the day i was sworn in. over 20 million have enhanced protections from boosters. we are down from 100 to about 60 million on vaccinated americans 12 years and older. i am proud to say black and brown adults, and native americans have gotten vaccinated at the same rate as white adults. and one more thing. our vaccine program is not only helping us save lives and feed the pandemic, it is helping our economic recovery. in the three months before i came to office, the economy was stagnant. creating only 60,000 jobs a month. since i've taken office, it is now averaging 600,000 new jobs every month. that's the average. vaccinating our children will help us keep our schools open.

keep our kids in the classroom. learning, socializing with their classmates and teachers. every reporter understands the difference between a child going to school and learning from home. it matters, not just in terms of visit:, but mental health. -- as a call, but mental health. we have seen how important -- physical, but metnal health. experts were advising against traveling a year ago. last month, i saw my daughter and our son-in-law. later this month, our table at hearts will be filled next to vaccines. we have made incredible progress the last nine months, but we have to keep going. the pandemic is not yet behind us, but we're getting there. so please do your part.

if you know someone who is not vaccinated, encourage them to get vaccinated. and folks who have not yet gotten vaccinate, please get vaccinated. it's easy, it's accessible, and it's free. you can do this. god bless you all, and i will take a few questions. >> mr. president! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]