Primetime Joe: President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday night to tout the signing of his $1.9 trillion relief bill that Congress passed earlier this week, and to encourage struggling Americans to stay tough, stick together, and stand vigilant against the coronavirus.

Biden broke some news and set some lofty goals for the nation to heal. He announced that there would be enough vaccines to inoculate the entire American adult population by May 1, and he pledged a ramped-up effort to reopen schools. Biden also circled July 4 as a fitting target date for a return to normal.

Speaking one year after the country went on lockdown to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, Biden remembered the more than 527,000 lives lost and the millions who lost their livelihoods. But he also encouraged struggling Americans to stand tough, stick together and stay vigilant against the virus as the country hits the home stretch on the road to a full recovery.

Biden assured Americans that help is on the way in the form of the $1,400 stimulus payments that should arrive this month, the $300 a month extension of federal unemployment benefits, and other programs designed to get the economy back on track. He warned that America is not out of the pandemic woods yet, but promised brighter days ahead.

WATCH SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM BIDEN'S ADDRESS

Now what?: As he repeatedly pledged during the presidential campaign, Biden’s top priority was passing a massive relief package. Now that he can cross it off the top of his agenda, what’s next on his to-do list?

By no means is his work against the pandemic done, but the bill’s passage does allow him to address some other pressing matters facing the country. Although he didn’t mention it in his speech, a veteran politician like Biden knows it’s time to do some fence-mending in Congress.

Biden expended a lot of political capital in making the deal, and he still couldn’t sway a single Republican to cross the aisle and support the legislation. Now he must find a way to bridge the huge gap between Democrats and Republicans (can we make a vaccine for that?)

Biden seeks some common ground with GOP members on infrastructure, while fellow Dems are pulling him back to the left with more social reform bills. How well he can navigate the impending political pitfalls will go a long way toward determining the success of his presidency and our democracy.

FIND OUT BIDEN’S FUTURE PLANS BEYOND THE PANDEMIC

Rapid response: Biden hadn't even signed the American Rescue Plan before good news started rolling in on the job front, but he can't credit his $1.9 trillion bill for the numbers that run through March 6.

The latest report shows new applications for unemployment dropped to a level not seen since November. There were 712,000 seasonally adjusted new claims for unemployment benefits filed last week, a drop of 42,000 from the prior week's total. Another 478,001 claims, not seasonally adjusted, were received under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program benefiting freelance workers. That brought the total new claims field last week to nearly 1.2 million.

Despite the encouraging trend, the economy is still about 10 million jobs short compared to a year ago. However, the relief bill is expected to start closing those gaps as vaccinations help the country get back to normal and small businesses get aid to reopen soon.

SEE WHY JOBLESS CLAIMS ARE TRENDING DOWNWARD