He also went after the Trump Administration over their vaccination efforts, warning that the project, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, is moving at a slower pace than needed.
“As I long feared and warned the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should, he said.
Earlier this month, Trump administration officials said they planned to have 20 million doses of the vaccine distributed by the end of the year. But according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control, just over 11.4 million doses have been distributed and only 2.1 million people have received their first dose.
At the current pace, Biden said “it’s gonna take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people.”
Today I got the COVID-19 vaccine. I am incredibly grateful to our frontline health care workers, scientists, and researchers who made this moment possible.
When you’re able to take the vaccine, get it. This is about saving lives. pic.twitter.com/T5G14LtFJs Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 29, 2020
The Bidens injections came the same day that a second vaccine, produced by Moderna, started arriving in U.S. states. It joined Pfizer s in the nation s arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now killed more than 335,000 people in the United States and upended life around the globe, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Scientific adviser urges further coronavirus restrictions to prevent catastrophe in England
From CNN s Sharon Braithwaite
A government message about the coronavirus tier 4 restrictions is seen urging people to stay home in London on December 29. Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images
Further coronavirus restrictions are needed in England to prevent a catastrophe at the start of 2021, a member of the UK government s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) said Tuesday. I think we are entering a very dangerous new phase of the pandemic and we re going to need decisive, early, national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February, Andrew Hayward, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, told BBC Radio 4 s Today programme.
Vice President-elect
Kamala Harris made a plea to the public at the United Medical Center in Southeast Washington D.C., a predominantly Black community, where she received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
TheGrio was on the ground as the vice president-elect emphasized that the vaccine is about saving lives, saying, “I trust the scientists and it’s the scientists who created and approve the vaccine … I urge everyone when it’s your turn to get vaccinated.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is administered the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by Registered Nurse Patricia Cummings at the United Medical Center on December 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Action from many Native American leaders and their allies made a difference this year. Turnout among Native American voters in Arizona surged compared with the 2016 presidential race, playing a key role in Joe Biden winning the state that hasn t supported a Democrat in the White House since 1996. And recently, President-elect Biden announced his nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to lead the Department of Interior, which would make her the country s first Native American Cabinet secretary.
Young, who organized to support this appointment, says it marks an emotional and historic day for Indian Country and American history. This is a proud moment for our people and our youth who can finally see someone who looks like us in a position of change-making power and who will lead us like our ancestors have for centuries, Young says. Rep. Haaland is also a strong person for the job, and we ve already seen her accomplish historical wins as congresswoman. She got four bills pas