good afternoon everyone
as i said on saturday i'm humbled by the
trust and confidence the american people
have placed in me and
vice president-elect harris and we're
ready to get to work addressing the
needs of the american people
today that work begins it starts with
doing everything possible
to get the kova 19 under control
so that we can reopen our businesses
safely
and sustainably resume our lives
put our put this pandemic behind us and
we just received positive news
in this fight with the announcement that
there's been progress made
toward a successful vaccine soon
as the expectation is the fda will run a
process of rigorous reviews and
approvals
the process must also be grounded in
science and fully transparent so the
american people can have
every confidence that any approved
vaccine is safe and effective
at the same time it's clear that this
vaccine
even if approved will not be widely
available for many months yet to come
the challenge before us right now is
still immense and growing
and although we are not in office yet
i'm just laying out what we expect to do
and hope can be done some of it between
now
and the time we were sworn in but so uh
the purpose of this
is to let you know what we're gonna do
once sworn in
and so uh there's a need for bold action
to fight this pandemic
we're still facing a very dark winter
there are now nearly 10 million covert
cases in the united states
last week we topped 120 000 new cases
on multiple successive days infection
rates are going up
hospitalizations are going up deaths are
going up
this crisis claimed nearly a thousand
american lives a day
nearly 240 000 deaths so far
protecting the projections still
indicate we could lose
200 000 more lives in the coming months
before a vaccine can be made widely
available
so we can't forgo the important work
that needs to be done between now
and then to get our country through the
worst wave
yet in this pandemic to reduce the
spread
to save lives so that's why today i've
named the kova 19 transition advisory
board
comprised of distinguished public health
experts
to help our transition team translate
the biden harris kova 19 plan into
action
a blueprint that we can put in place as
soon as kamal and i are sworn in
to office on january 20th 2021
and we'll seek to add other members to
this board
during this important with bring
additional important perspectives
on public health and expertise
throughout the transition
this group will advise on detailed plans
built on a bedrock of science and to
keep
compassion empathy and care for every
american at its core
making rapid testing widely available
more widely available much more widely
available and building a core of contact
tracers
who will track and curb this disease
while we prioritize getting vaccines
first to the most at risk populations
developing clear and detailed guidance
providing the necessary resources
for small businesses schools child care
centers
to reopen and operate safely and
effectively during the pandemic
protecting both workers and the public
scaling up productive life-saving
treatments in therapeutics
and when it's ready making sure an
approved vaccine is distributed
equitably
and efficiently and free for every
american
the case is rising once more it's
imperative that we ramp up our
production of personal protective
equipment
to make sure our brave health care
workers have what they need to do
battle safely against this virus we're
going to get
states cities and tribes the tests
and the supplies they need we're going
to protect vulnerable populations
who are at risk mostly at risk from this
virus older americans
and those with pre-existing conditions
we're going to address the health and
economic disparities that mean this
virus is hitting the black latino
asian american pacific islanders native
american communities
harder than white communities focusing
on these
communities is one of our priorities not
an afterthought
the bottom line i will spare
no effort to turn this pandemic around
once we're sworn in on january 20th
to get our kids back to school safely
our business is growing and our economy
running at full speed again
and to get an approved vaccine
manufactured and distributed as quickly
as possible
to as many america as to as many
americans as possible
free of charge we'll follow the science
we'll follow the science let me say that
again and we'll adjust
to new data when it comes in and we'll
listen
and work in cooperation with governors
and local leaders of both parties
who are fighting this virus in their
communities this very day
there is so much good work happening at
state local levels across the country
governors mayors
they're stepping up the advisory board
will listen
and learn lessons from their experience
and because we know that we won't fully
defeat covert 19
until we defeat it everywhere my
advisory council also includes experts
on global health security
so that we can restore u.s global
leadership to fight this pandemic
this is a crisis that affects everyone
as i've said throughout this campaign
i will be a president for every american
this election is over it's time to put
aside the partners
the partisanship and the rhetoric that
designed to demonize one another it's
time to end the politicization
of basic responsible public health steps
like mask wearing
and social distancing we have to come
together to heal the soul of this
country so that we can effectively
address this crisis
as one country where hard-working
americans have each other's backs
and we're united in our shared goal
defeating this virus
as you work toward a safe and effective
vaccine
we know the single most effective thing
we can do to stop the spread of covert
is wear a mask the head of the cdc
worn this fall that for the foreseeable
future
a mask remains the most potent weapon
against the virus
today's news does not change that urgent
reality
we i won't be president until january
20th
but my message today is to everyone is
this
it doesn't matter who you voted for
whether you stood
who where you stood before election day
it doesn't matter your party your point
of view
we can save tens of thousands of lives
if everyone would just wear a mask
for the next few months not democrat or
republican lives
american lives you know maybe would save
the life of a person who stocks a shelf
at your local grocery store
maybe it saves the life of a member of
your place of worship
maybe it saves the lives of one of your
children's teachers
maybe it saves your life so please i
implore you wear a mask
do it for yourself do it for your
neighbor
a mask is not a political statement
but it is a good way to start pulling
the country together
i want to be very clear the goal of mask
wearing
is not to make your life less
comfortable is to take something
or take something away from you is to
give
something back to all of us a normal
life
the goal is to get back to normal as
fast as possible
and mass are critical in doing that
it won't be forever but that's how we'll
get our nation back
back up to speed economically so we can
go back to celebrating birthdays and
holidays together
so we can attend sporting events
together so we can get back to the lives
and connections we shared before the
pandemic
it doesn't matter whether or not we
always agree with one another
it doesn't matter who you voted for
we are americans and our country is
under threat
and now we're we're now called to do the
same thing that generations
of proud americans have done when faced
with a crisis throughout our history
rise above our differences to defend the
strength
and the vitality of our nation
you know that's the character of
patriots that's the character of america
we have to do this together wearing a
mask may seem like a small act
maybe you think your individual choice
won't make any difference
but throughout our history throughout
the history of our nation
we've seen over and over how small acts
add up to enormous achievements
it's the weight of many small acts
together
that bend the arc of history you know i
know there's nothing the american people
can't accomplish when we work together
as one people with one mission
we can get this virus under control i
promise you we can rebuild our economy
back better than it was before
we can address race-based disparities
that damage our country
it's in our power so let's wear a mask
let's get to work thank you
may god bless you and for all those
who've lost somebody or how heart goes
out to you
we know what it's like our heart goes
out to you
may god protect our health workers our
health care workers
and all americans thank you
you