The Trump administration had no plan in place for the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, said Sunday.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Klain called the current process “chaotic” and “very limited.”
“The process to distribute the vaccine, particularly outside of nursing homes and hospitals, out into the community as a whole, did not really exist when we came into the White House,” Klain said.
“[There’s] many bottlenecks,” he said of the process. “Like all complex processes, this is a very complex process that needs help on all fronts. We need more vaccine. We need more vaccinators, more vaccination sites.”
Klain added that vaccine hesitancy has to be overcome or COVID-19 will continue to be a problem in the country.
“Unless we can reduce vaccine hesitancy and get all Americans to take this vaccine, we'll continue to see COVID as a problem in this country,” he said. “We have a task force focused on health equity. A lot of this hesitancy is in communities of color. We'll tackle the problem with a trusted communicator, direct on-the-ground communication to win over those who are vaccine hesitant.”
Klain defended inclusion of a minimum wage demand as part of a COVID relief package from Congress.
“The president put a plan before the country. I think that's what the country wanted to hear,” he said. “Without delving back into the past, we didn't have this kind of leadership before. He said here is what needs to happen. We're very dedicated to passing the minimum wage. We think that's an urgent priority. We're going to push Congress to pass our priorities….We think the minimum wage should be part of this emergency relief package.”
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