Biden: Vaccine rollout ‘falling behind’

Biden: Vaccine rollout ‘falling behind’

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday criticized the Trump Administration’s vaccine rollout, saying it has fallen behind expectations, and warned it could take years at the current rate for most Americans receive the shots.

Gavino Garay reports.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden took aim at the Trump administration on tuesday for moving too slowly in the vaccine rollout saying it's fallen "far behind" its intended targets.

"A few weeks ago, the Trump administration suggested that 20 million Americans could be vaccinated by the end of December.

With only a few days left in December, we've only vaccinated a few million so far.

With the pace that the vaccination program is moving now, if it continues to move as it is now, it's going to take years, not month.

To vaccinate the American people." Biden, speaking in Wilmington, Delaware warned the situation in the U.S. will get worse before it gets better but vowed to spearhead a robust vaccination campaign once sworn into office on January 20th ..

"A Biden-Harris administration will spare no effort to make sure people get vaccinated.

I've laid out three challenges in our first 100 days.

One of them is ensuring that 100 million shots will be administered in the first 100 days.

If Congress provides the funding, we'll be able to meet this incredible goal.

It would take ramping up 5 to 6 times the current pace to 1 million shots a day." Biden said he plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to accelerate vaccine production and called on Congress to release more funds to fight the pandemic.

The Biden team has put particular emphasis on the importance of encouraging inoculation in non-white groups especially hard hit by the coronavirus.

ON TUESDAY Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received the Moderna vaccine at a medical center in predominately black southeast Washington.

NAT POP - HARRIS -- "I barely felt it... it is safe ... it's literally about saving lives.

I trust the scientists." Shortly after Biden's remarks, Colorado's Governor announced on that his state had discovered a case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom, the first known case in the U.S.