President Joe Biden on Thursday addressed the nation, touting his administration's efforts to have employers and industries require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Biden delivered his remarks from Elk Grove Village, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

"We know there is no other way to beat the pandemic than to get the vast majority of Americans vaccinated," Biden said.

In September, Biden laid out a six-pronged plan to combat COVID-19 this fall.

Part of that plan included a new rule from the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated. That provision also requires workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work.

"In total, this Labor Department vaccination requirement will cover 100 million Americans," Biden said.

Biden has also signed executive orders requiring all federal workers to be vaccinated and all contractors working with the federal government to be vaccinated.

Since his directive was implemented within the military, Biden said vaccinations rates among active-duty members went from 67% to 97%.

Biden asserted that this continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated, which is having an effect on the economy.

"Increased vaccination results in as many as 5 million American workers going back to work because they feel safe they can go back to work," Biden stated.

Biden appeared hopeful that cases will continue to come down if more people get vaccinated. He said cases have dropped by 40% over the last month. He added that rates of hospitalizations and deaths have also fallen.

"We're headed in the right direction if we keep our eye on the ball," he said.

The Biden administration on Monday announced more details regarding its commitment to donate 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the rest of the world by the end of June.

On Monday, the White House announced the distribution list of 55 million doses of vaccine.

According to the White House, 41 million doses will be shared with COVAX and be delivered to the following countries.

• Approximately 14 million for Latin America and the Caribbean to the following: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Costa Rica.
• Approximately 16 million for Asia to the following: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and the Pacific Islands.
• Approximately 10 million for Africa to be shared with countries that will be selected in coordination with the African Union.

The other 14 million doses will be shared with Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, other CARICOM countries, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, and Bosnia.

The White House previously announced the destination of the remaining 25 million vaccine doses of its initial 80 million dose pledge earlier this month.

During a White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki noted that officials have made "Herculean logistical effort" in sharing vaccine doses. She noted that in addition to the typical storage and shipping challenges that come along with transporting vaccines, the White House is also attempting to overcome language barriers and other international shipping issues.

During a foreign trip last week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. had committed to providing the world with an additional 500 million vaccine doses through COVAX within a year. Other G-7 nations also agreed to provide 500 million doses of their own for a total of 1 billion doses.

President Joe Biden on Friday celebrated the U.S.'s accomplishment in distributing 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in his first 150 days in office, calling it a "truly American accomplishment."

In remarks from the White House, Biden celebrated the fact that the mass vaccination program has delivered real-world results — COVID-19 infections and deaths are at their lowest points since the virus arrived in America in March 2020.

"Folks, we're heading into a very different summer from last year. A bright summer, one filled with hope," Biden said.

In a statement released Friday, the White House noted that the rate of vaccination has exploded since Biden took office on Jan. 20. As of Friday, 87% of seniors and 74% of adults over 40 have received at least one shot, and 15 states have partially vaccinated 70% of their adult population.

However, time is running short on Biden's current vaccination goal. He has said he hopes to have 70% of U.S. adults partially vaccinated by July 4 — with 16 days remaining, the CDC says 65% of adults have gotten at least one shot.

According to Bloomberg, the daily rate of distributed doses fell steadily between mid-April and early June. However, the daily vaccination rate has been on the rise in recent weeks.

The recent rise in vaccinations comes as the Biden administration has partnered with several large businesses to incentivize Americans to get a shot. The White House has partnered with chain retailers to offer sweepstakes to those who get vaccinated in-store, sports teams to offer free tickets to fans who present proof of vaccination and brewers to offer free beers when the U.S. reaches the 70% goal.

Several states have launched their own incentive programs, like Ohio's vaccine lottery that offers grand prizes of $1 million or free college scholarships.

In addition to offering incentives, the Biden White House has partnered with pharmacy chains to extend their hours of operation to make vaccinations more convenient, partnered with childcare centers to offer free drop-in care for those who are getting the vaccine and offered tax credits to small and medium-sized businesses that allow employees to take a day off work to get vaccinated.

President Biden's announcement earlier this week that the U.S. will donate half a billion doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine around the globe is the largest any single country has made so far. 

"Even though 250 million is still only a small portion of the entire population that needs to be vaccinated in those countries, it will go a long way to vaccinate people above 65 years of age, as well as the front line workers like health care workers," said Richard Reithinger, vice president of global health at RTI International. 

It also further establishes the U.S. as a world leader in vaccine distribution at a time when some public health experts have called on wealthy nations to do more to help those outside their borders. 

The White House says the doses, which will be produced in the U.S., will begin shipping in August. The first 200 million will be delivered by the end of this year. The remaining 300 million will go out in the first half of 2022. 

Pfizer's vaccine is a two-dose regimen that has to be kept cold during every stage of transportation. Once it's removed from ultra cold storage, the doses only last about five days. That could present some logistical challenges, and possibly determine where the vials are sent. 

"Larger urban centers should be also prioritized, where, of course, you are more likely to find the type of infrastructure that you need to distribute the vaccine," Reithinger said. 

Senior administration officials say the total cost is still being determined, but they expect to spend at least $1.5 billion on from the American Rescue Plan. 

Still, some say the U.S. and other nations need to do more to vaccinate the world. Democratic congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi praised the announcement in a statement, but added, "This must be only the first step in a larger effort to expand and accelerate the production and delivery of the billions of doses we need to end the pandemic."

President Biden has also said the U.S. will export 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 20 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines this summer. He said the doses would be given with no strings attached.

"We're doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic. That's it. Period," President Biden said Thursday. 

This story originally reported by Kellan Howell on Newsy.com