Biden government officials admitted that they were late in putting the coronavirus vaccine in the arms of Americans across the country, but attributed the delay to the “bottlenecks” and the lack of a comprehensive Trump White House plan.
Ron Klain, appointed by President Biden as White House Chief of Staff, said a vaccination plan “did not really exist when we entered the White House”.
“The fundamental difference between the Biden approach and the Trump approach is that we are going to take responsibility in the federal government,” Klain said on Sunday. “Meet the Press” from NBC News.
Xavier Becerra, the nominee to head Health and Human Services, linked Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan with controlling the growing number of cases across the country.
“The plane in a free fall. And we have to pull it up, ” Becerra said on CNN. “And you won’t be doing it overnight. But let’s pull it up. We have to pull up. Failure is not an option. “
“But first you have to rescue people, you have to rescue the economy,” he said. “President Biden made it clear: it will not happen overnight.”
He avoided a question in CNN’s “State of the Union” about when someone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine “can get it.”
“Well, it is a matter of making sure that we are coordinating with the states, because it is not the federal government that is putting the vaccine in the arm,” he said in the “State of the Union”.
“But we are trying to provide that, or provide the resources, and they help to make it happen. And what we want to be sure of is that the locals, in doing so, have a clear plan, ”continued Becerra.
Pressed on a vaccine schedule by CNN anchor Dana Bash, Becerra said he could not say specifically when this would happen, but said the Biden government would be transparent about its plans.
“We give people immediate information. We don’t try to hide the ball. And as soon as we have this information, I guarantee, we will share it ”, he said.
Becerra also defended Biden’s pledge to commit to 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office, saying the president was working with data he had before entering the White House.
“As soon as we are at the house, taking care of business, we will be able to get more accuracy, but you have to give us a chance to find out what is going on in the cabin, which is making this plane go down so severely,” he said.
Klain said hitting the 100 million shots would still be “a great achievement”.