Joe Biden said his administration planned to make Covid-19 vaccine booster shots available to all Americans starting on 20 September as infections rise from the Delta variant of the coronavirus, writes The Guardian.

The White House is prepared to offer a third booster shot starting on that date to all Americans who completed their initial inoculation at least eight months ago, the US Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

“This will boost your immune response. It’s the best way to protect ourselves from new variants that could arise”, - Biden said at the White House.

The president urged anyone 18 or older who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to seek a booster shot eight months after their second dose, echoing the advice from his pandemic response team.

He also announced that he was directing the health department to develop regulations to require nursing homes to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for their employees in order to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding.

Biden noted that more than 130,000 residents of nursing homes had died of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.