Nonetheless, Biden’s public pledge, phrased as a directive to states, will likely spur along the move and reflects his growing confidence in a stream of shots from the three producers whose vaccines the U.S. has authorized: Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.
Biden’s administration expects enough doses from those three companies by June to fully vaccinate nearly 300 million people. The shots are only recommended for use in those age 16 and up, and the U.S. has just over 260 million adults.
Right Chord
Aides said Biden spent the week before the speech line-editing his remarks, acutely aware of the need to strike the right chord.
That meant trying to balance empathy regarding the staggering death toll and the economic impact of shutdowns with a message of hope, but also explaining the further government response on the way and any additional sacrifice that might be necessary.
Biden also approached the remarks with a desire to clearly and directly convey information about the government’s actions, White House officials said, answering logistical questions and quelling concerns Americans may have had as they tuned into the televised speech.
For example, in assuring Americans that the vaccines are safe, he cited Anthony Fauci, the government’s foremost infectious disease expert.
Biden announced that the administration was doubling the number of pharmacies and federal mass vaccination sites offering shots, and that he would deploy about 4,000 additional active-duty troops to assist in the effort. The government will create a website and open a 1-800 number to help Americans find available shots, and offer technical support to states developing their own such services.
Biden’s details, as well as his caution—he said at one point that if stimulus failed, he would acknowledge it—begged comparisons with Trump’s speech, exactly a year ago, in which he bungled details of his administration’s response to the emerging virus while maintaining the risk to most Americans was “very, very low.”
Biden opened his remarks with implicit criticism of his predecessor, saying that when the virus arrived in the U.S., it was “met with silence and spread unchecked.”
“You’re owed nothing less than the truth,” Biden said. ”For all of you asking when things will get back to normal, here is the truth. The only way to get our lives back, to get our economy back on track, is to beat the virus.”
—With assistance from Angelica LaVito.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.