President Donald Trump is bent on convincing Americans that Democrats stole the election from him through widespread voters fraud, but he has not shown any evidence to back these claims. On the other hand, President-elect Joe Biden is focusing more on helping the nation stop the spread of the still-raging coronavirus pandemic.
Keeping in line with Biden's focus, his coronavirus advisors are slated to meet with top drug companies developing the much-awaited coronavirus vaccines this week, his recently selected chief of staff, Ron Klain, said on Sunday. The meetings come despite Trump's refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election; however, he admitted in a tweet that Biden won.
He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more! https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020
Klain, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama to serve as the White House Ebola Response Coordinator back in 2014, told MSNBC’s Meet the Press that Biden's top health officials are not able to coordinate with federal government employees because the General Services Administration hasn't approved the transition process yet. Nevertheless, he confirmed that the team would meet with leading drug makers, including Pfizer.
He went on to say that top scientists advisors from Biden's team will be meeting with officials of the drug companies. Companies with vaccine candidates for COVID-19 in the late-stage clinical trials include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna. Details about which other companies Biden’s team plans to meet are still scarce.
One of the biggest challenges Biden's administration is expected to face after taking office on Jan. 20 includes manufacturing and distributing the vaccines. Preliminary data show Pfizer’s vaccine to be over 90 percent effective in terms of preventing COVID-19 will require considerable storage and distribution, as well as ultra-cold temperatures.
Pfizer Chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell that they could see the light at the end of the tunnel, touting this as the most significant medical advance in the last hundred years, considering the impact it is likely to have on the global economy and public health. Klain pointed out that the bigger issue will be the method adopted for manufacturing and distributing the vaccine.
Furthermore, he noted that Biden’s transition team must work alongside the HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) as soon as possible. The HHS has been spearheading the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines under Operation Warp Speed.
People at HHS are planning to implement the vaccine, Klain said. He insisted that experts of Biden's team need to talk to those people soon to ensure that nothing drops in this transition of power, which takes place on Jan. 20.