But help is on the way, he says, as the U.S. is now ‘on track’ to have enough supply for 300 million by the end of July.
President Joe Biden said the United States is facing a “national crisis” in the pandemic of coronavirus and its administration is working to deliver enough COVID-19 vaccines to 300 million Americans. protection.
“We’re in a national crisis,” Biden said, wearing a mask when he told scientists at the National Institutes of Health just outside Washington, DC on Thursday.
“This is one of the most difficult operational challenges we have ever faced as a nation. This is going to take time, ”said Biden.
The U.S. is on track to exceed Biden’s goal of administering 100 million doses of vaccine in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million views delivered in his first three weeks. The 300 million doses would be delivered by the end of the U.S. summer, Biden said.
“We are now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July,” he said.
Biden said the U.S. coronavirus death toll is likely to reach 500,000 next month. He urged Americans to wear masks as a “loving duty” to prevent the spread.
Demand for the vaccine far outstrips supply and Americans are struggling to get prescriptions for inoculations, leaving Biden in real trouble less than a month after their departure from the former President Donald Trump.
Biden criticized Trump, saying that “the former president had no plans to vaccinate most of the country”.
“My ancestor, let’s be rude about him, didn’t do his job in preparing for the great challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans,” Biden said.
“He didn’t prescribe enough vaccines. He didn’t move enough people,” Biden said.
Trump’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for a response to Biden’s comments. Trump had been proud of the pace of vaccine development on his watch, Reuters news service reported.
The Biden administration has deployed active troops to help stand up to major vaccine sites in several states, laying the foundation for an increased vaccination rate as more supplies become available.
Biden stressed that his administration is doing everything possible to increase vaccine supply and the country’s ability to deliver injections to arms.
Biden had announced Thursday that the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July – more than a month earlier than originally expected.
“We appreciate the confidence that the U.S. government has shown in our COVID-19 vaccine,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a news release.
The speed of the injection could increase further if the third coronavirus vaccine from drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.