Joe Biden cheers COVID-19 vaccine progress but says masks remain a must

Amid the rise in coronavirus infection in the United States, President-elect Joe Biden on Monday urged the people to wear masks to slow the spread of the disease. Biden also cheered the latest development in the COVID-19 vaccine by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

Biden said Americans still face 'a dark winter' and need to be aggressive about wearing masks and maintaining social distance as infections continue to surge around the country. His remarks came after he met with his newly formed coronavirus advisory board. Earlier in the day, Pfizer announced promising results from its vaccine trial and is on track to file an emergency use application with regulators this month. Reacting to this, Biden said it could be months before a vaccine is widely available.

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'I implore you, wear a mask'

"We could save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. Not Democratic or Republican lives, American lives. Please, I implore you, wear a mask," said Joe Biden.

The Democrat's team also revealed members of his coronavirus working group tasked with developing the upcoming administration's pandemic response. The board will be put in motion as soon as Biden takes office in January and it will be led by former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Yale University public health care expert Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith and former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler.

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Pfizer, along with the German drugmaker BioNTech, announced that it is on track to file an emergency use application with US regulators this month. As per reports, the interim analysis of the Pfizer vaccine, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the US and five other countries. The company said an early look at its vaccine data suggests the shots maybe 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19.

Biden's plan to tackle the pandemic

Meanwhile, Biden has revealed his transition plans for tackling the pandemic situation as the cases climb to a new high point. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen nearly 65 percent over the past two weeks in the US. Over the past week, one out of every 433 Americans was diagnosed with coronavirus. As the death toll continues to soar, hospitals in several states are running out of space and staff. So far, the country has recorded more than 9.8 million infections and more than 237,000 deaths from COVID-19.

After being declared as the President-elect on Saturday, Biden immediately pivoted from a bitter campaign battle to reining in the pandemic that has hit the world’s most powerful nation harder than any other. He announced the members of his advisory board will develop a blueprint for fighting the pandemic. It includes scientists and doctors who have served in previous administrations, many of them experts in public health, vaccines, and infectious diseases.

During the campaign, Biden had pledged to make testing free and widely available as well as hire thousands of health workers to help implement contact-tracing programs.

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(With inputs from agency; Image - AP)