Bill Gates says presidential transition is ‘complicating’ U.S. efforts to distribute vaccine

12/13/2020 Health



[ad_1]

“The transition is complicated, but the new administration is willing to rely on real experts and not attack those experts,” Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday. the “State of the Union.”

President Donald Trump has refused to grant the 2020 election to Biden and has failed to coordinate with the president-elect on the Covid-19 vaccine candidates and the massively complex distribution operation. Biden has said that the Trump administration had shared information, but not a “detailed plan,” with his transition team on the national distribution of a vaccine.

In his interview with Tapper, Gates praised the incoming Biden administration for “laying out clear plans” to curb the spread of Covid-19, adding that “I think we will get through this in a positive way.”

“You know I am satisfied with the people and the priority that President-elect Biden and his team are bringing to this problem,” he said.

The Gates Foundation said Thursday that it plans to commit an additional $ 250 million to support “research, development and equitable delivery” of tools to combat Covid-19, including tests, treatments and vaccines. The announcement brings the group’s total commitments to the global Covid-19 response to $ 1.75 billion.

Gates praised Biden for “doing everything possible to retain” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who Gates said would be “willing admit when things are not going well “and” convey difficult messages. “

“I think the United States will not be one of the worst players, as (Biden’s) team takes over.”

The United States is the nation with the most cases and deaths from Covid-19. As of Sunday morning, the US had reported more than 16 million Covid-19 cases and nearly 300,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Gates noted in his interview that “the United States would have been expected to be the best” when it comes to the pandemic, given its federal health agencies and various technologies, but “sadly … we didn’t get through it like many countries did. , and added that future autopsies of the crisis “will guide us.”

Biden has unveiled a three-point plan to combat the coronavirus pandemic, including a goal to distribute 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office. Biden also told Tapper in an interview earlier this month that he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days after taking office.

During his interview with Tapper, Gates confirmed that he has spoken with Biden about the pandemic.

The price to pay each year “to avoid, you know, a trillion dollar disaster. I think the roadmap is clear, and I spoke to the president-elect about that. And you know, I think our foundation will be part of that dialogue. to make sure we don’t screw it up again, “Gates said.

The United States is close to a vaccine, as the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech on Friday. And the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted Saturday to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for people age 16 and older, bringing the US one step closer. in order to vaccinate millions of its citizens.

Gates told Tapper that the distribution “should be based on medical necessity, not wealth.”

“After all, this epidemic has been terrible in the way that it has exacerbated inequalities,” he said.

Gates also said that he is “super happy with all these vaccines” and that when it is his turn to vaccinate, “I will visibly take the vaccine. Because I think it is a benefit for all people not to be transmitting.”

CNN’s Devan Cole and Clare Duffy contributed to this report.

[ad_2]
Designed by Tricksfast Solutions
© Copyright 2025, All Rights Reserved