Biden warns US may lose more lives due to COVID-19, urges people to get vaccinated

The United States President-elect Joe Biden on December 22, warned that even after the vaccine rollout, the US can lose "tens of thousands" of more lives due to the deadly coronavirus. Biden received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a hospital in Newark on December 21 (local time). The vaccination process was also broadcasted live on television across the 50 states. With just a month left for his White House inauguration, Biden took the opportunity to urge all Americans to get vaccinated.

Biden urges people to get vaccinated

Speaking during a virtual address, Biden said, “Experts say things are going to get worse before they are going to get better -- notwithstanding the fact that we have a vaccine. As you know, we are averaging a death rate of 3,000 people a day -- that means that we are going to loose tens of thousands of more lives in the months to come and the vaccine would not be able to stop that. We will still have to remain vigilant”.

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He expressed his full confidence in the vaccine as he said that he has full confidence but there is a short supply. Biden said, “Taking the vaccine from the vile into the arms of millions of Americans is one of the biggest operational challenges the United States has ever faced”. With this, he urged Americans to "mask up, stay socially distanced and avoid large gatherings". 

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Earlier on Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot on live television, along with Surgeon General Jerome Adams to assure the people about the effectiveness of the vaccine. The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected 78,476,586 people worldwide with the global death toll reaching at 1,726,558. As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of 18,684,628 positive virus cases and has a death toll of 330,824. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

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(Image Credits: AP)