Joe Biden has promised Americans a chance to celebrate the July 4 national festivities with 'cookouts and BBQs,' but warned there is a long way to go.
In his first primetime televised address to the country, the US President also said he would ramp up the mass inoculation programme.
He vowed on Thursday he would direct states to make all adults eligible for the coronavirus vaccine by May 1.
But the Democrat also urged Americans to stay vigilant against the virus, hours after he signed a $1.9 trillion cash injection bill into law.
In a speech from the White House on the first anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Biden said July 4 Independence Day was the target for a return to some normality and an independence from Covid.
He said he needed 'every American to do their part' and added: "If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July 4 there's a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together.
"In your back yard or in your neighbourhood and have a cookout and a BBQ and celebrate Independence Day."
In the US the virus has killed more than 530,000 people, the most of any country. Coronavirus-related lockdowns and restrictions have also cost huge swathes of jobs.
In a recounting of the grim toll the pandemic has taken on the nation, Biden said: "Photos and videos from 2019 feel like they were taken in another era.
"The last vacation. The last birthday with friends. The last holiday with extended family.
"While it was different for everyone, we all lost something," he said, noting that the virus was met with "denials for days, then weeks, then months, that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, more loneliness."
He announced he was ordering U.S. states, territories and tribes to make all adults eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by May 1.
The White House has said it would have enough vaccine supply to vaccinate the population by the end of May.
About 10 per cent of Americans have so far been fully vaccinated and the president said more U.S. troops would help in the inoculation effort.
He said that families and friends should be able to gather again in small groups by July 4, a holiday that many Americans celebrate with outdoor parties, hot dogs and fireworks.
He also encouraged Americans to keep up preventative measures such as mask wearing and staying socially distant, as well as practicing good hygiene.
He said: "We faced and overcame one of the toughest and darkest periods in this nation's history, the darkest we've ever known.
"I promise you will come out stronger."
Earlier in the day Biden signed the American Rescue Plan law, designed to be a financial bridge to hard-hit Americans and a boost to the economy.
The package gives $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
The bill passed without a single vote from Republicans, who complained the price tag was too steep.
