Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Biden Plans To Give 50 Million Americans COVID-19 Vaccinations In His First 100 Days

Biden Plans To Give 50 Million Americans COVID-19 Vaccinations In His First 100 Days

The coronavirus vaccination plan, announced as part of a health team rollout, would mean distributing 100 million shots in Joe Biden’s first months as president.
President-elect Joe Biden is planning a vaccination program that would inoculate 50 million Americans against COVID-19 in his first 100 days in office.

"This team will help get at least 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of Americans in 100 days," the president-elect said in a speech on Tuesday. A transition team official clarified afterward that 50 million Americans would be vaccinated — because the two most promising early vaccines require two shots per person.

Those vaccinations will be "one of the hardest and most costly operational challenges in our nation's history,” Biden said. Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration program to fast-track the development of coronavirus vaccines, is currently aiming to vaccinate 100 million people by the end of February.

While laying out his plan, he acknowledged that in order for it to work, it will require the cooperation of lawmakers in Congress to fund the program. If Republicans win two runoff elections in Georgia and retain control of the Senate, that is likely to be a challenge.

Biden also reiterated that he will mandate wearing masks for his first 100 days in office in every area he has the authority to do so — on federal grounds, and during interstate travel. Acknowledging the limits of that authority, he said he would “speak directly to the American people” and ask them to "Wear a mask for the first 100 days … whatever your politics or your point of view."

He added that he believes the majority of schools nationally could be reopened by the end of his first 100 days.

"It should be a national priority to get our kids back into school and keep them in school," he said.

The president would not have the authority to directly reopen schools, but could use federal funding and other incentives to influence those decisions on a state and local level.

Biden announced the vaccination goal on Tuesday as he officially introduced key nominees and appointees on his healthcare team, including California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Vivek Murthy for surgeon general — a role Murthy also filled during the Obama administration — Rochelle Walensky to direct the CDC, Marcella Nunez-Smith to chair the COVID-19 equity task force, and Anthony Fauci to be chief medical adviser to Biden on the pandemic.

“These actions are bold, but they are doable and essential to help the public avoid unnecessary risks, to help us save lives, reopen schools and businesses, and to eventually beat the pandemic,” Fauci said in a prerecorded video statement at the Biden event. “I look forward to advising you on these most urgent priorities, and to work with this team of World Class experts who I have known for many years, and deeply respect.”

Fauci was not present or mentioned at a vaccine event held at the same time by President Donald Trump at the White House, except for in a clip in a video that aired at the start of the event that criticized experts, Biden, and others for doubting Trump’s vaccine timeline.

Trump at the event signed an executive order that he said would ensure Americans have priority access to the vaccines when they begin to be distributed globally. It wasn’t clear whether the order would change anything about how the vaccines will actually be distributed — the head of Trump’s vaccine program, Moncef Slaoui, said, “Frankly, I don’t know, and frankly, I’m staying out of this. I can’t comment. I literally don’t know,” when asked how Trump’s executive order on vaccines would make a difference during an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday morning.

The executive order was signed just one day after the New York Times reported that Trump turned down a deal this summer to secure more vaccine doses from Pfizer. The company signed a deal to provide 100 million doses of the vaccine to the US and is expected to become the first vaccine to receive emergency authorization from the FDA later this week. Pfizer has since signed other deals with foreign governments. The UK began vaccinating its population with Pfizer’s vaccine on Tuesday.

During a phone briefing with reporters on Monday, a senior administration official was unable to provide any further details on how the executive order would work to ensure Americans were prioritized for more vaccines. He said that they expect 40 million doses to be available for the first 20 million people this month and that enough doses would be available to vaccinate all Americans by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

“We think by spring we’re going to be in a position that nobody would have believed possible,” Trump said. “They say it’s somewhat of a miracle.”

Representatives from Pfizer and Moderna were not present at the summit Tuesday. Stat News reported that the drug manufacturing companies declined invitations to attend.

Trump, who during the event again refused to accept that he had lost the election, generally displayed a radically different approach to the vaccine on Tuesday from Biden. The president-elect’s decision to appoint Nunez-Smith to lead a pandemic task force focused on equity is one of several significant departures from how Trump has evaded and downplayed the crisis — Trump has never acknowledged that people of color have been disproportionately hit by the virus itself and its economic fallout. But the Biden team has yet to detail how that task force would reduce inequities in COVID-19 treatment and vaccination.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×