Biden: Trump administration falling "far behind" on vaccine distribution
President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the Trump administration for "falling behind" on distributing coronavirus vaccines, saying that with "only a few days left in December, we've only vaccinated a few million so far."
The big picture: Biden also pleaded with Americans to wear a mask and take other steps to contain the spread of the coronavirus, reiterating his warning that "things will get worse before they get better."
Context: Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Tuesday that Operation Warp Speed will not reach its goal of having 20 million Americans receive the coronavirus vaccine by the end of December.
- Only 2.1 million people have received the first dose of the vaccine, with nearly 11.5 million doses distributed as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What he's saying: "The Trump administration's plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind. Far behind," Biden said after a briefing from his COVID-19 advisory team.
- "We're grateful to the companies, the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants, and operation warp speed for developing the vaccines quickly. But as I long feared and warned the effort to distribute the vaccine is not progressing as it should," he added.
- "We need to scale up testing so anyone who needs one can get a test. After ten months of the pandemic, we still don't have enough testing. It's a travesty."
- Biden said Americans can save thousands of lives "if we just step up together, wear a mask, socially distance, wash our hands, avoid large indoor gatherings."
- "I know all these are not easy to ask, but I'm asking for you to make a sacrifice. You're already making tremendous sacrifices every single day. It's hard on your lives and your livelihoods and your kids and your families. It's not small what we're asking of you, but we're in this together."
- “We’re going to get through this, brighter days are coming, but it’s going to take all the grit and determination we have as Americans to get it done.”
Trump defended his administration's vaccine rollout in a tweet later on Tuesday, saying it "is up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government."
- "We have not only developed the vaccines, including putting up money to move the process along quickly, but gotten them to the states."
Go deeper: Biden adviser says he will invoke Defense Production Act to increase vaccine supply