News Analysis India

Tag: Americans

  • Biden Slams Trump For Not Reaching COVID Vaccine Distribution Goal

    President-elect Joe Biden on December 29 condemned US President Donald Trump for “falling behind” on distributing the coronavirus vaccines. In a live-streamed address on the COVID-19 pandemic crisis from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said, “As I long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should.” He berated the Trump administration, saying that the sitting US President had planned to vaccinate nearly 20 million Americans by the end of December and had been unable to achieve that target. “After ten months of the pandemic, we still don’t have enough testing. It’s a travesty,” the president-elect Joe Biden said in a tweet. Biden’s remarks came after he and Vice president-elect Kamala Harris held a COVID-19 meeting with experts. 

    In his address, Biden urged the Americans to wear a mask and follow health safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. He reiterated the warning that “things will get worse before they get better.” Biden told the Americans that as the New Year approaches, “We have to be honest that we have a very tough year ahead, maybe the toughest during the entire pandemic.” Biden added, “We’re grateful to the companies, the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, the clinical trial participants, and operation warp speed for developing the vaccines quickly. But as I long feared and warned the effort to distribute the vaccine is not progressing as it should.”

  • One Million Americans Vaccinated Against Coronavirus In 10 Days

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took to its official Twitter handle as it announced that more than 1 million people have been vaccinated in the United States. Terming it as an ‘important milestone’, CDC said that with cases increasing, this news comes at a very critical time. The CDC director, Robert Redfield also took to his Twitter handle as he said that the government will continue to work closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments and the federal partners to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

    “The U.S. has passed an early but important milestone in bringing the #COVID19 pandemic to an end. More than 1 million people received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the past 10 days. With #COVID19 cases surging nationwide, this comes at a critical time”, read the tweet by the CDC. According to a report by the department, it is providing recommendations to the federal government on who to give the vaccine first. These recommendations are given with the objective of decreasing death and serious disease as much as possible, preserving the functioning of society and reducing the extra burden COVID-19 is having on people already facing disparities. However, the first doses were mostly given to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents. This will be Phase 1a.

  • US President-elect Joe Biden Joins List Of World Leaders To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine On TV

    US President-elect Joe Biden received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a hospital in Newark, Delaware on Monday, 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 inoculated as soon as the vaccine becomes available to them.

    The 77-year-old also garnered accolades from Americans as he refused to count to three before receiving the shot. “I am ready,“ he said as instructed the health care professional to inject him with the vaccine. Biden praised the health care workers and said President Donald Trump’s administration “deserves some credit getting this off the ground.”

    The president-elect said that his wife Jill Biden had received her first dose earlier in the day. Biden’s running mate, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are expected to receive their first shots next week.

  • Joe Biden And Wife Jill To Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Publicly On Dec 21: Report

    President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will receive the COVID-19 vaccine in front of the press on Monday, confirmed his spokesperson Jen Psaki. According to New York Post, Psaki, while talking to reporters on Friday, said that Biden and his wife will publicly receive COVID-19 jabs in their home state Delaware on December 21 in order to convince the American citizens about the safety of the drug. The incoming White House press secretary further added that the Bidens will thank the health care workers after taking the vaccine shots. 

    Psaki said that Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff will take the COVID-19 vaccine shots the following week. Harris and Emhoff will also take the jabs publicly to build confidence among the people. Biden had earlier said that he is willing to take the vaccine shot live on television if it helps in clearing any doubts that people might be having regarding the vaccine. Biden will become one of the first Americans who are not health care professionals to receive the jab on Monday. 

  • Biden Says ‘will Of People Prevailed’ After Electoral College Votes Sealed His Victory

    After members of the Electoral College gathered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots and declared Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential elections on December 14, the US President-elect hailed the nation’s democracy that “proved to be true”. Hailing his victory over incumbent Donald Trump, Biden said that the rule of the law and the US constitution along with the will of the Americans “prevailed” especially when Trump attempted to mount legal battles to undo the results of US Election 2020. 

    In a speech on Monday from Delaware, the president-elect not only unleashed one of the most direct criticisms of Trump’s failing efforts but also launched a detailed defence of his historic victory in the presidential elections. Biden even catalogued all the failures of Donald Trump and his campaign, allies in state and federal courts along with state legislatures and several recounts that did not change the outcome of the democratic process, the credibility of which was also questioned by the Republican leader. According to the president-elect, Trump’s efforts to overturn the results were “so extreme we’ve never seen it before.”

  • Joe Biden Reiterates He ‘will Be President For All Americans’ After Electors Confirm Win

    US President-elect Joe Biden sealed his electoral victory over Donald Trump after gaining 270 electoral college votes on December 14. Following his win, Biden delivered a speech from his home city of Wilmington, Delaware and reiterated that he “will be a President for all Americans”. He appealed to “turn the page” on the divisive contest and said that it is “time to heal and to unite”.

    On Monday, while the 78-year-old Democrat was already projected to surge past the magic mark, the additional 55 votes from California electors took his total vote count to 302. According to AP, in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, elector’s gave Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris their votes in person whereas Nevada’s electors met via Zoom because of the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump, on the other hand, earlier this week said that his fight to challenge the result of the November 3 presidential polls is “not over”. 

  • Fauci Promotes COVID-19 Vaccine Safety And Efficacy Among African Americans

    In a bid to instil confidence among the African-American communities over the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine, US top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said that one of the major vaccine candidates has been worked on by an African- American woman.

    In an interview with CNN, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) said that the vaccine which has shown “absolutely exquisite levels” of efficacy against the novel coronavirus was actually developed by his team’s Dr Barney Graham and Dr Kizzmekia Corbett. 

    He was reportedly referring to the COVID-19 vaccine that will be released by Moderna. Corbett, who is also the lead scientist for the National Institute’s of Health’s coronavirus vaccine research has reportedly said that people who have doubts regarding the safety of the vaccine have a right to ask questions. 

  • Trump Promises ‘free Vaccines’ After Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Earns FDA Nod

    The US on Friday has given a green light to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine. The development came after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of a vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech. US President Donald Trump has reacted to the development and assured free vaccine for all Americans. 

    Taking to Twitter, Trump announced that the FDA’s decision to authorize emergency use of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine. Terming the decision as a ‘medical miracle’ Trump has thanked all the scientists, doctors and workers for the vaccine. In addition, Trump has also stated that his administration had disbursed over two hundred million dollars to Pfizer for the development of over a hundred million doses of the vaccine. Trump further assured that the vaccine will be free for all Americans.

     Following the nod from the FDA, the US government had also tied up with FedEx and UPS to ship the vaccine doses to every state in the country. Apart from this announcement, Trump has also remarked that the vaccine’s first dose will be administered within 24 hours. However, Trump has expressed that the senior citizens, healthcare workers and first responders will be the first ones to receive Pfizer’s Covid vaccine. 

  • Biden Hails Neera Tanden, Says She Will Create A Budget Reflecting Values Of America

    US President-elect Joe Biden recently said that Indian-origin Neera Tanden understands the struggles of working Americans because she has lived them. Earlier this week, Biden had formally announced Tanden’s nomination as the head of Office of Management and Budget (OMB). While hailing Tanden for her “brilliant policy mind,” Biden said that she will always be motivated to help the families and create a budget, that reflects the values of America. 

    Further, Biden also highlighted that Tanden would be the first woman of colour and from South Asia to lead the OMB. Meanwhile, Tanden is a policy-making veteran and is a close ally of Hillary Clinton. She had also contributed to the passing of the Obama Administration’s OBAMACARE.

    Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Biden also unveiled his high-profile and experienced team. Biden exuded confidence that his team will create a recovery for all and get the country’s economy moving again. His economic team includes Janet Yellen as the Treasury Secretary, Indian-American Neera Tanden as the Director of Office of Management and Budget, Wally Adeyemo the as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Cecilia Rouse as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey as members of the Council of Economic Advisers.

  • Trump Pardons Corn The Turkey During Annual Thanksgiving Event

    On November 24, US President Donald Trump spared the life of a National Thanksgiving Turkey as he issued a ‘pardon’ to the fowl in an annual Presidential holiday tradition that dates as far back as the 1940s. In the Rose Garden Tuesday, US President and the first lady Melania Trump pardoned an Iowa bird named Corn that superseded its counterpart named Cob from the Presidential Flock of turkeys. The bird was chosen following unusual polls ran by the White House on Twitter, asking, which of the two fowls be spared in the myth filled tradition that will restore the ‘sense of normalcy’.

     “Ladies and gentleman, the president of the United States and Mrs. Trump,” an announcer introduced as the ceremony commenced. Taking part in the event alongside his wife in White House Rose Garden, US President wished the Americans a Happy Thanksgiving as he offered a reprieve to Corn from among 30 turkeys raised by Walcott turkey producers Ron and Susie Kardel. The two birds were presented to the US President by the National Turkey Federation. As Trump forbade Corn from being slaughtered during the festivities, both the turkeys are reported to retire at a new home at the campus of Iowa State University. Meanwhile, refraining from the political jokes, Trump said, “Thanksgiving is a very special day for turkeys, Thank you, Corn.” He then proceeded with the bashing of his former defense secretary Jim Mattis.