Biden urges Americans to have ‘confidence’ in new COVID vaccine

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Biden, Harris introduce key members of their administration

President-elect Joe Biden says Americans “should have confidence” in a new coronavirus vaccine produced by the drug maker Pfizer that could be imminently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for immediate use.

The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was 95% effective in trials and displayed no major side effects, according to company officials. An outside panel of infectious disease experts on Thursday gave the vaccine a thumbs up, the final step before FDA officials determine whether to approve an emergency use authorization.

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“I want to make it clear to the public – we should have confidence in this,” the president-elect emphasized Friday as he introduced his latest cabinet picks for his incoming administration.

“There is no political influence. These are first rate scientists taking their time and looking at all of the elements that need to be looked at. Scientific integrity led us to this point,” Biden highlighted.

President-elect Joe Biden announces his choice for several positions in his administration during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden spoke hours after President Trump publicly took to Twitter to demand that FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn fast-track the approval process.

“Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!” the president tweeted.

The FDA announced on Friday that it’s informed Pfizer that it would “rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization” of the vaccine. Vaccinations could begin hours after FDA approval.

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Last week Biden said he’ll do “everything in my power” to convince Americans to take the coronavirus vaccines but he added that “I don't think it should be mandatory.”

Sixty-one percent of Americans questioned in a Quinnipiac University national poll released this week said they’d get vaccinated, with a third saying they don’t think they would be willing to take the shots.

As for how quickly people are willing to take the vaccine once it is approved, 37% say as soon as possible, with 41% saying they would wait a few months, and one in five saying they would never get vaccinated.

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Biden repeatedly said during the presidential election and since his victory that he would take the vaccine if it was given the thumbs up by the scientists.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made major headlines and stirred controversy during September and October when she said on multiple occasions that she wouldn’t trust the president’s word on taking the vaccine.

"If the public health professionals, if Dr. (Anthony) Fauci, if the doctors tell us we should take it, I'll be the first in line to take it, absolutely," Harris said during her single debate with Vice President Mike Pence. "But if Donald Trump tells us we should take it, I'm not taking it."

Nearly 300,000 deaths in the U.S. have been linked to the coronavirus since the pandemic first swept across the nation in February and March, with more than 15.7 million cases of COVID-19 reported. New cases and deaths from the virus have surged the past two months.

Biden, in his comments on Friday, noted the “tragic milestone in our fight against COVID-19 - more than 3,000 deaths in one single day – the highest single death count during this pandemic. That’s more deaths in a single day than we saw on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor.”

The president-elect warned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is predicting a similar number of daily deaths for the next 60 to 90 days.

And taking aim at Trump, he emphasized that “we’re in the teeth of this crisis right now, and this nation needs presidential leadership right now."

Fox News Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report