President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Tuesday that the country’s darkest days in the battle against COVID-19 have yet to come, pouring some cold water on positive vaccine developments in his Christmas message.
Mr. Biden said experts are forecasting that the situation will get worse before it gets better, notwithstanding the millions of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine doses that are being distributed across the country.
“Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us,” Mr. Biden said in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware. “So we need to prepare ourselves to steel our spines.”
Mr. Biden said his family is foregoing its typically large Christmas gathering and urged the public to wear masks, socially distance and avoid large indoor gatherings.
“Like we did over Thanksgiving, we all have to care enough for each other that we have to stay apart just a little bit longer,” Mr. Biden said. “I know it’s hard … we have a long way to go.”
Mr. Biden said people are grateful for the quick development of vaccines, but successfully delivering and administering the doses will be a major operational challenge.
He is planning to call on Congress to approve another round of coronavirus relief early next year after lawmakers signed off on a $900 billion package this week.
He is expecting to pick up at least some Republican support for measures such as direct stimulus checks, money for vaccine distribution, and extended unemployment benefits.
“I think you’re seeing that there is a clear understanding that these issues go beyond any ideology,” he said. “People are desperately hurting.”
The Trump administration hailed the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as a turning point in the battle against the virus.
“Some said it couldn’t be done. But in this season of hope, hope is on the way,” Vice President Mike Pence told a gathering of young conservatives in Florida. “Thanks to your president and incredible American ingenuity, under Operation Warp Speed we have come to the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The vaccine developments come as Britain and much of Europe grapple with a new strain of the virus that researchers are still examining.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a consistent supporter of President Trump, announced strict new stay-at-home restrictions for the U.K. ahead of the Christmas holiday.
U.S. officials say there’s not a need yet for a mass travel ban from the U.K.
Mr. Biden said he is talking with his advisers about rules requiring people to test negative before they fly to the U.S. and making them quarantine on arrival.
“That’s my instinct, but I’m waiting to hear from my experts right now,” he said.
In addition to the coronavirus, Mr. Biden vowed to respond to the hackers responsible for the SolarWinds cyberattack on federal government systems.
He said Mr. Trump dropped the ball and that the president can’t even bring himself to blame Russia, who Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other U.S. officials have fingered as the likely culprit of the massive breach.
“His failure will land on my doorstep,” Mr. Biden said.
He did not specify options for retaliation, though members of his team have mentioned financial sanctions as one possibility.
“Let us determine what the extent of the damage is and I promise you, there will be a response,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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