Dr. Anthony Fauci is calling for a smooth transition of presidential power in hopes of getting a coronavirus vaccine out to the American people without hiccups.
Asked about his concern that “the White House has still not green-lighted” the transition to an administration under President-elect Joe Biden, Fauci reiterated his remarks from over the weekend that a “smooth” transition is crucial and that he is concerned. He added that “passing of the baton without stopping running” is important.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was pressed during Monday’s “Today” interview on if it is “critical” to have the smooth transition from one administration to the next.
“The virus is not going to stop and call a time out while things change. The virus is just going to keep going. The process is just going to keep going,” Fauci responded.
His remarks come just over a week after several major outlets projected Biden as the winner of the presidential election and President Donald Trump has refused to concede.
See Fauci’s comments below:
“Now we have two vaccines that are really quite effective.”
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 16, 2020
Watch @SavannahGuthrie’s full interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci about the new coronavirus vaccine candidate results from Moderna, battling COVID fatigue, and the importance of a smooth White House transition. pic.twitter.com/mosSOEyMzo
Moderna Inc announced on Monday that a potential coronavirus vaccine showed to be 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19. Pfizer, which is also working with BioNTech, made known on Nov. 9 that early data from its coronavirus vaccine showed more than 90% efficacy in preventing COVID-19.
Additionally, Fauci said during Monday’s interview on the potential coronavirus vaccines:
“This is something that just is now going in the very, very strong, right direction. The vaccines are effective. We want to get it approved as quickly as we possibly can. We want to get doses to people starting in December, and then we want to really get the ball rolling as we get into January, February and March.”
“We want a smooth process for that,” Fauci added. “And the way you do that is by essentially having the two groups speak to each other and exchange information.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) weighed in on Fauci’s comments, tweeting, “The election is over. Donald Trump lost. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next President and Vice President of the United States.”
The election is over. Donald Trump lost.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 16, 2020
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next President and Vice President of the United States.
Donald Trump continuing to deny reality will only hurt America’s ability to effectively distribute a vaccine.https://t.co/SYNHAOIMdM
“Donald Trump continuing to deny reality will only hurt America’s ability to effectively distribute a vaccine,” Schumer declared.
The U.S. has reported a total of more than 11.1 million coronavirus cases and over 246,000 deaths due to the virus, as of Monday afternoon. The country saw a record-high of 181,196 new cases reported on Nov. 13. The U.S. has reported the most cases around the world, with India and Brazil following behind with over 8.8 million cases and more than 5.8 million cases, respectively.