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“Just 100 days to hide, not forever. 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction,” Biden told Tapper in his first joint interview with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris since winning the election.
Biden has said that where he has authority, such as in federal buildings or interstate transportation on planes and buses, he will issue a standing order requiring masks to be worn.
Biden also said he asked Dr Anthony Fauci to become chief medical adviser and be part of his Covid-19 response team when his administration begins next year.
Biden said the conversation took place Thursday afternoon. CNN reported earlier today that Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, had a meeting scheduled with Biden’s transition team.
“I asked him to stay in exactly the same role he had for the last presidents, and I asked him to also be a chief medical adviser for me and to be part of the Covid team,” said Biden to Tapper.
Biden added that Ron Klain, his new chief of staff, knew Fauci well and spoke to him “all the time.”
Fauci has had a complicated relationship with Trump since he began advising the Republican leader on the coronavirus response, with the president often ignoring recommendations from Fauci and other health leaders. These clashes made Fauci the center of public attention, often seen as a hero on the left for his commitment to science in the face of Trump’s comments and a villain on the right, especially among Trump loyalists.
Biden described his plans for the coronavirus as a balance between making sure Americans believe the vaccine is safe and instituting a number of plans that will help curb the spread of the virus without shutting down the economy.
Biden also said in the interview that he would be “happy” to get a coronavirus vaccine once Fauci says he is safe and will get the vaccine publicly to demonstrate his confidence.
“This is the time when I will stand in front of the public” and receive the vaccine, Biden said. “People have lost confidence in the vaccine’s ability to work. Already, the numbers are extremely low, and what the president and vice-president do matters.
“I think my three predecessors set the pattern for what should be done, saying, once it’s declared safe … then obviously we take it and it’s important to communicate with the American people,” he said. Biden said.
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