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The coronavirus will have killed half a million people in the US By the end of next month, Joe Biden predicted Thursday, warning that his administration could not dramatically accelerate the pace of vaccines.
The president, who ran for the election with a commitment to review the US response to the pandemic, told reporters that “the death toll is likely to exceed 500,000 next month, cases will continue to rise.”
“We didn’t get into this mess overnight. It will take months to turn things around, ”Biden added during a briefing at the White House on his first full day as president.
Biden also lowered expectations for a sea change in the speed of the US vaccination campaign, warning that “the brutal truth is that it will be months before we can vaccinate the majority of Americans.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to launch “an aggressive, safe and effective vaccination campaign” to deliver 100 million inoculations during his first 100 days in office.
However, that would not represent a significant increase from the current rate of vaccination: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 912,497 doses were administered per day in the last week.
When asked by a reporter if the goal was ambitious enough, Mr. Biden replied: “When I announced it, everyone said it is not possible. Come on, give me a break, man. “
Biden takes office as the death rate continues to rise. On Wednesday, the US reported a record 4,409 deaths from the virus, according to the Covid Tracking Project, which puts the total number of deaths at 396,837.
The president’s grim assessment of the pandemic marks a sharp departure from his predecessor, Donald Trump, who repeatedly predicted that the United States was on the verge of defeating the virus only for it to get even more out of control.
“The honest truth is that we are still in a dark winter from this pandemic,” Biden said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better. It will take us many months to get to where we need to be. ”
He said the best way to contain the virus was to mitigate its spread while pleading with Americans to wear a mask for the next 100 days. “The fact is, the best we can do is [wear masks].
“It is more important than vaccines because they take time to work.”
The president also said that his administration would force anyone who flies to the US to test negative for coronavirus beforehand and self-quarantine upon arrival, in a slight tightening of the existing regime.
And it added that it would make wearing a mask mandatory on some forms of interstate travel.
Meanwhile, Biden vowed to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to force companies to make some items in short supply, including vaccine syringes, N95 masks, and materials for test kits.
