Presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Tuesday that his COVID-19 response plan involves getting at least 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office.
He said the public should be under no illusion that the coronavirus can be eradicated within 100 days but that there are steps people can take to slow the spread.
“100 million shots in the first 100 days,” Mr. Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware.
He said Congress needs to put resources into vaccine distribution and manufacturing or there will be a risk that the process will slow and eventually stall out.
He also said that with adequate funding and proper planning, a majority of schools can be reopened by the end of his first 100 days in office.
Mr. Biden said he plans to sign an executive order on his first day in office to mandate mask-wearing where he has the authority to do so, like on federal grounds and in interstate travel.
Mr. Biden spoke at an event to introduce key members of his health team.
He initially mispronounced the last name of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), before correcting himself.
Mr. Biden spoke as President Trump was holding his own event touting the current administration’s work on vaccines.
