Sticking to his baseless claims about widespread voter fraud, President Donald Trump continues to refuse the election results and accuse Democrats of stealing the election from him. He also refuses to work along with the President-elect Joe Biden on the much-awaited COVID-19 vaccine, and this could affect the vaccine rollout and delay the nation's attempt to restrict the spread of the still raging coronavirus pandemic.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he'd have won if the illegal votes are not counted but did not provide any evidence to support his claim of mass coordinated voter fraud. Moreover, his denial of carrying out the transition process between administrations can be deemed as a democracy-damaging defect.
Taking the current national emergency into consideration, Trump's withholding could cause practical fallout that could affect Biden's incoming administration, politically as well as in various other ways. Moreover, there are growing concerns that Trump's hold-up will hinder the delivery of the vaccine that is expected to help Americans return to normal life amid reports showing doses from Pfizer and BioNTech SE can stop over 90 percent of coronavirus infections, Bloomberg reported.
The distribution process is expected to be complex, aside from a historic public vaccination effort that targets millions of Americans, many of whom have refused to wear masks because Trump told them not to. This effort could be damaged if politicized, and unless Trump cooperates, the Biden team may end up having a hard time carrying out the operation, CNN reported.
Aside from hindering the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Trump and his allies continue to attack governors, stepping into his leadership vacuum as the pandemic continues to tighten its grip across all 50 states means Biden will inherit a worse situation than it should have been. White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas even criticized Michigan's new restrictions and encouraged people to rise up against the recently introduced health measures.
This denial will claim the lives of thousands of Americans as health experts expect them to either get sick or even succumb to the deadly virus in the absence of a nation-wide response to the winter spike in infections. The victims of this rebuff will be workers because businesses will remain close due to coronavirus restrictions and schoolchildren, who are already falling behind due to shuttered classrooms.
Biden warned on Monday that more people would die if they don't coordinate, pressurizing Trump to accept his defeat in the election. Biden is calling for a coordinated national effort to restrict the impact of the spike in infection across the United States.