Biden Praises COVID-19 Vaccine Progress, White House Seeks Credit

US President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris appear on video screens as they hold a virtual meeting with their Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Advisory Council in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. November 9, 2020. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst

WILMINGTON (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden on Monday praised Pfizer Inc’s progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine, but urged Americans to wear masks because they may not be widely available for many months as the administration of the President Donald Trump tried to claim the credit.

Pfizer said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective as it revealed the first successful interim data from a large-scale clinical trial. That was a breakthrough in the search for a vaccine to fight a pandemic that has killed more than 237,000 Americans, put millions more out of work and contributed to Trump’s defeat in last Tuesday’s election.

The drugmaker developed its vaccine outside of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed ​​program, although the US government placed an initial order in July for 100 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for $ 1.95 billion and can acquire up to 500 million additional doses. Operation Warp Speed ​​invested billions of dollars in six other pharmaceutical companies aimed at accelerating the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer was also one of several companies that will be part of a public-private partnership launched by the US National Institutes of Health in April to accelerate treatment options and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter attributed the progress of Pfizer’s vaccine development to a “public-private partnership” forged by Trump.

Biden, who said his advisers had been briefed on the breakthrough Sunday night, in a statement called Pfizer’s announcement “great news,” but said it would be “many more months” before widespread vaccination is available in the United States.

“As we work toward a safe and effective vaccine, we know that the most effective thing we can do to stop the spread of COVID is to wear a mask,” Biden, who made his criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic a centerpiece of your campaign. he told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware.

The United States has recorded record numbers of infection in recent days. The wearing of masks has become a political problem in the United States, with Trump mocking Biden for wearing a mask during the campaign and many conservatives arguing that the masks infringe on his individual freedom.

Biden spoke two days after winning the election victory over Trump, who has not admitted defeat and is pursuing legal challenges to the results while making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.

Trump celebrated on Twitter the announcement of the vaccine and the resulting gains from the stock market: “THE BIG STOCK MARKET, THE VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SO GOOD NEWS! “

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., without evidence accused drug companies of deliberately withholding the results of clinical trials until after the election.

“Everyone knew it, but they kept it from the public on purpose,” Trump Jr. said on Twitter. “Big Pharma hates Trump for taking on the deception of Americans with drug prices while offering the same drugs in other parts of the world for pennies on the dollar.”

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE were the first drug manufacturers to publish successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

‘I beg your’

Biden, who will take office on January 20, met by video with a 13-member task force that he asked to design a plan to combat the pandemic, spearheaded by former US surgeon general Vivek Murthy, the former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) David Kessler. and Yale University health equity expert Marcella Nunez-Smith.

“We can save tens of thousands of lives if everyone wears a mask in the next few months. It does not live Democrats or Republicans. American lives, “Biden said, adding that” it won’t be forever.

“So please, I implore you: wear a mask. Do it yourself. Do it for your neighbor. A mask is not a political statement, but it is a good way to start uniting the country, “added Biden.

Biden during the campaign accused Trump of panicking and surrendering to the pandemic. Trump promoted untested drugs, lashed out at public health experts, showed no signs of empathy or compassion as the death toll rose, disregarded advice on wearing masks and social distancing, and ended up hospitalized in October receiving treatments. for COVID-19.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson and David Bossie, the attorney tasked with leading Trump’s post-election legal challenges, became the last people in Trump’s orbit to test positive for COVID-19, just days after the chief of staff White House official Mark Meadows also tested positive.

Biden surpassed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency on Saturday after four days of scrutiny.

“This election is over,” Biden told reporters. “It is time to put aside the partisanship and rhetoric that is designed to demonize each other.”

But high-ranking Republican lawmakers continued to refuse to recognize Biden as the winner of the election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that Trump was fully within his rights to investigate alleged voting irregularities, and in a Senate speech he did not recognize Biden as president-elect.

Trump, apparently intending to settle scores within his administration after the election, announced on Twitter Monday that he had “fired” Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Trump has been speaking with his advisers about the possibility of running for president in 2024, said a source familiar with the discussions.

Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien held an all-staff meeting at the campaign headquarters to deliver the message that Trump “is still in this fight,” said a source familiar with the meeting.

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