Biden expected to call out Trump administration on pace of vaccine distribution
President-elect Joe Biden is set to confront the slower-than-expected pace at which the Trump administration is administering coronavirus vaccines in remarks Tuesday afternoon, a transition official tells CNN.
A transition official says the President-elect “will address the current Administration falling short on its pace for vaccinations” and lay out his own plan for vaccinating people in a quick way.
The remarks will come after Biden receives a briefing from his Covid-19 advisory team, the official said, and the President-elect will also give a general status update on the pandemic and the stakes in the months ahead.
Axios was first to report the details of the speech.
After Biden takes office next month, the President-elect aims to distribute 100 million vaccine shots, which is enough to cover 50 million people, in his initial 100 days in office.
The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which both recently received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, both require two doses administered several weeks apart.
The President-elect received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on live national television last week, and assured Americans of the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received the first dose of the vaccine Tuesday morning.
Vice President Mike Pence was administered the vaccine at an on-camera event the week prior to Biden. Trump has not yet received the vaccine and won’t be administered one until it is recommended by the White House medical team, a White House official previously told CNN.
In addition to mass distributing vaccines, Biden’s plan to combat the virus includes signing a face mask mandate on his first day in office and has said that getting kids back to school safely is a national priority.
