President-elect Joe Biden will deliver an address on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic from Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, transition officials have said.
Axios reported early Tuesday that the President-elect will likely use the remarks to reinforce warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week that suggested a surge in coronavirus infections and related deaths is anticipated in the coming weeks. The agency has forecasted 16,400 to 27,600 new deaths likely to be reported by mid-January, amid increased indoor gatherings and an uptick in holiday air travel that reached its highest levels on Sunday since the early days of the pandemic in March.
Per Axios, Biden will also admonish the Trump administration for failing to meet its vaccine distribution pledge after recent reports suggested that Operation Warp Speed is lagging behind its initial goal.
Biden, who has said he has plans to administer 100 million doses of the vaccine during his first 100 days in office, will also likely discuss how he will roll out his inoculation program, which is expected to make use of the Defense Production Act.
Biden’s effort ahead of his inauguration to address the nation on the pandemic’s dire turn comes as President Donald Trump has remained largely silent since last month’s election about the public health crisis that has now killed more than 335,000 people in the United States.
