Biden: "Sufficient Vaccines Secured by End of July... Normalization by Next Christmas"

"Right after inauguration, there were no vaccines at all"... Trump criticized
"600 million doses of vaccines secured by the end of July"... New administration promotes achievements

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. President Joe Biden announced that it is possible to secure enough COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate all Americans by the end of July, and that life will return to normal, pre-COVID-19 conditions starting this Christmas. He criticized the previous Donald Trump administration for having a very insufficient vaccine supply immediately after taking office and emphasized the achievements of the new administration.

On the 16th (local time), President Biden appeared at a town hall meeting hosted by CNN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stating, "By the end of July, we will secure 600 million doses of the vaccine, which is enough to vaccinate every American," and "By next Christmas, most people's lives will return to normal, and the number of people who need to wear masks and practice social distancing will be much lower than now."

He continued, "When I took office, there was literally nothing in the refrigerator; the situation was embarrassingly insufficient," strongly criticizing the previous Trump administration. He further emphasized his achievements by saying, "At that time, only 50 million doses of vaccine were available, and I invoked the Defense Production Act to secure more equipment necessary for vaccine production."

President Biden also said, "One of the major obstacles to vaccination is the lack of people who can administer the vaccine, so I issued an executive order," adding, "There has been significant progress in increasing the number of people who can give vaccine shots, including retired doctors and nurses, and military personnel, and we have opened many locations where people can get vaccinated." This emphasis on the new administration's COVID-19 vaccine achievements is interpreted as a response to former President Trump promoting vaccine development and distribution as his own accomplishment.

Additionally, President Biden pointed out, "New variants may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, and the more the virus spreads, the more it can develop resistance to vaccines," then urged, "If you can get vaccinated, get vaccinated anytime regardless of the variant." It is also known that additional doses for variants will be secured promptly.

Regarding the normalization of schools, President Biden insisted that teachers should be prioritized to get vaccinated first by standing in line. He said, "We must vaccinate teachers. We need to move them to the top of the priority list," and suggested, "We hope to have in-person classes five days a week from kindergarten through eighth grade, and some schools will need to hold classes throughout the summer to make up for lost time."

On the issue of vaccinating children, he showed a cautious attitude, saying, "We have not yet tested which vaccines are effective or what is needed for children," while addressing a second-grade elementary school student present at the broadcast site, saying, "But there is no need to be afraid. Everything will be fine, and I will make sure your mom is doing well too."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.