President-elect Joe Biden‘s Covid-19 adviser says the Biden-Harris administration will “be ready on day one” to address the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 248,000 Americans to date.
“There is a transition plan and we’re translating that plan into a blueprint for action,†said Rick Bright, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board.
“We’ve waited 10 months for a plan to be shared with the American public and health care experts on the vaccine program. We waited for a plan on national testing strategies. We waited for plans on ramp-up of production of PPE and other critical medical supplies,†Bright continued, taking aim at President Donald Trump‘s administration. “We haven’t yet seen any of those plans. I don’t think those plans exist.â€
Expressing his hope that the Trump administration has done more planning “beyond dropping it off at a warehouse by the military,” Bright said the administration has “politicized so much of this response, including the vaccine.” As a result of those actions, “there are many Americans across our country who are hesitant on whether or not they can trust this vaccine because of the political pressure that we’ve seen from the Trump administration.â€
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The Trump administration has largely abandoned its coronavirus response in the wake of the November 3 general election. President Trump has cut back his public appearances and has spent much of his time declaring, without evidence, that the election was fraudulent. He has also ordered White House officials not to cooperate with the transition, a move that has received pushback from both sides of the political aisle. His efforts to litigate the election have also failed.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
