Bill Gates said the transition between presidential administrations is 'complicating' the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, but 'we'll get through this in a positive way'
- Bill Gates said that, while the transition of administrations "is complicating" the vaccine distribution process, he believed "we'll get through this in a positive way," he said during a segment of CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
- Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday.
- Moncef Slaoui, the head scientist of the federal vaccine initiative Operation Warp Speed, said on Sunday that Moderna's vaccine will also "likely" to be approved by Friday of the upcoming week.
- Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has refused to concede to the election even after the US Supreme Court on Friday rejected Texas' lawsuit contesting the election results.
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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said, while the transition of administrations "is complicating" the vaccine distribution process, he was "pleased" with how the incoming Biden administration was approaching the problem.
Gates made the comment during a Sunday interview on CNN's "State of the Union" when asked by host Jake Tapper whether the change in administrations and the delayed transition could "complicate" the process of vaccine distribution.
The tech billionaire told Tapper that the "transition is complicating, but the new administration is willing to rely on actual experts and not attack those experts."
"I think we'll get through this in a positive way," Gates said, adding that he was "pleased with the people and the priority that the President-elect Biden and his team are bringing to bear on this problem."
Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, and the FDA commissioner said on Sunday that the first vaccinations could happen as early as Monday, Business Insider's Connor Perrett reported.
Moncef Slaoui, the head scientist of the federal vaccine initiative Operation Warp Speed, said on Sunday that Moderna's vaccine will also "likely" be approved by Friday of the upcoming week and said he expected around 40 million vaccine doses to be distributed before the year is over.
The US Supreme Court said on Friday that it would not hear Texas' lawsuit contesting the election results in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia, citing that "Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections."
Business Insider's Sonam Sheth and Jacob Shamsian reported President Donald Trump and his allies have not won any of over 30 lawsuits they have filed since the election. Even so, Trump said Sunday that the election is "not over" and has refused to concede to Biden.
The Trump-appointed administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) announced it would provide resources to the Biden team to begin the transition process on November 23.
The delayed transition process prompted concerns that the incoming Biden-Harris administration would not be able to access information in preparation for vaccine distribution, Business Insider's Bill Bostock reported.
Last month, Slaoui said he had "been informed that I should not be saying anything that is confidential to anybody, including anybody that's not a part of the administration," and said he was not in contact with the incoming Biden-Harris administration, Business Insider's Kate Duffy reported.
- Read more:
- Operation Warp Speed's top scientist says Moderna vaccine will 'likely' be approved by end of week
- Biden's scientific advisors are meeting Pfizer and other vaccine makers this week, even as they can't access White House COVID-19 plans because Trump won't concede
- PFIZER SHOT GETS OK: US regulators greenlight first coronavirus vaccine for emergency use
- FDA commissioner says he hopes the first coronavirus vaccine in the US could be administered on Monday
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/384Q7dm
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