President Joe Biden told US states on Thursday to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1 and urged Americans to stay vigilant or face more restrictions, hours after he signed a US$1.9 trillion (RM7.6 trillion) stimulus bill into law.

In a forceful but sombre speech from the White House on the first anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Biden said if Americans pulled together there could be a greater sense of normalcy - and some backyard barbecue parties with small groups - on the US Independence Day holiday on July 4.

That date is a new goal for the president and a projection of hope amid a pandemic that has killed more than 530,000 people...