Biden says if Trump administration doesn't coordinate with his transition team, 'more people may die'

President-elect Joe Biden is calling for access to the Trump administration's COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, saying "more people may die" if there's no coordination with his transition team.

During an address on Monday, Biden celebrated the "great news" that COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer appear to be more than 90 percent effective, but said "the sooner we have access to the administration's distribution plan, the sooner this transition would smoothly move forward." As President Trump continues to refuse to concede the 2020 presidential election, Biden's transition team "does not have access to the administration's COVID-19 data and vaccine distribution plans," CNN reports.

Asked what is the biggest threat of Trump obstructing a smooth transfer of power, Biden said, "More people may die if we don't coordinate." It's crucial for his transition team to know what the "game plan" is for the "huge undertaking" of vaccinating over 300 million Americans, he added.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

"If we have to wait until January 20th to start that planning, it puts us behind, over a month, month and a half," Biden said. "And so it's important that there be coordination now, now or as rapidly as we can get that done."

Ron Klain, Biden's chief of staff pick, previously emphasized the importance of the transition being able to access the administration's vaccine distribution plan, saying, "Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change of power we're going to have on January 20th." And asked on Sunday whether it would be best if health officials could begin working with Biden's team, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told CNN "of course" it would be, adding, "That's obvious." Brendan Morrow