US COVID-19 Total Infections Reach 15 Million... Biden Pledges 100 Million Vaccinations Within 100 Days of Inauguration

1 Million Increase in Five Days
Health Team Introduces and Emphasizes Early Vaccine Distribution
Average Daily Deaths Reach 2,200 in the Past Week

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] President-elect Joe Biden emphasized that within the first 100 days of his inauguration, 100 million people will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

On the 8th (local time), Biden made this remark while introducing his health team in Wilmington, Delaware.

He stressed, "Supplying the vaccine is the most difficult and costly challenge in our country's history."

Biden also urged Congress to provide budget support necessary for vaccine distribution and administration, saying, "Without congressional funding, these efforts will come to a halt."

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who joined Biden's health team, attended the event via video and emphasized, "If we unite as one nation, we can overcome the pandemic."

On this day, the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients in the United States surpassed 15 million. Johns Hopkins University reported the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as 15,019,092.

Just five days after the cumulative cases exceeded 14 million on the 3rd, an additional 1 million infections were recorded, setting a record for the shortest period in which cases increased by 1 million.

In the U.S., the average daily death toll from COVID-19 over the past week reached about 2,200, marking the highest level since April.