Democratic presidential
candidate Joe Biden has promised to distribute COVID-19 vaccine to all Americans
for free as part of his strategy against the coronavirus pandemic, days ahead
of the November 3 election.

During a
campaign rally in his home state of Delaware on Friday, Biden censured
Preisdent Donald Trump for his response to the pandemic, which has infected
over 8.5 million Americans and has claimed over 220,000 lives, PTI reported.

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“President
Trump said we’re rounding the corner, it’s going away, we’re learning to live
with it. They are quotes. But as I told him last night, we’re not learning to
live with it. We’re learning to die with it. This is a dark winter ahead,”
Biden said in what was a major policy speech on the pandemic.

While
lamenting the over 220,000 deaths in the country, Biden highlighted a Columbia
University study that indicated somewhere around 130,000 to 210,000 of the total
deaths so far were avoidable.

“Once we
have a safe and effective vaccine, it has to be free to everyone, whether or
not you’re insured,” he said.

The former vice
president said that upon his election as president, he will oversee a “bulk purchase”
of “as many doses as necessary of the COVID-19 vaccine so we can provide it
free to those who are uninsured, under-insured or Medicaid-eligible.”  

“COVID-19
dwarfs anything we’ve faced in recent history and it isn’t showing any signs of
slowing down. The virus is surging in almost every state. We passed 4.8 million
cases. And when Trump was asked this week what he’d do differently to get the
pandemic response right from the start his answer was and I quote, ‘Not much.
Not much,” he said.

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He slammed
Trump’s handling of the pandemic, saying he doesn’t have a plan and that the
longer he stays in power, the “more reckless” he will get.

“We don’t
have to be held prisoner by this administration’s failures. We can choose a
different path. We can do what Americans have always done: come together and
meet the challenge with grit, compassion, and determination,” he said.

He further stated
that once elected as president, he will put in place a national strategy that
will help the country get a grip over the situation and restore normal life.

He said he
will direct the new Congress to prepare a bill by the end of January which will
use all resources necessary to protect public health and the economy till the
end of the pandemic.

He also
said he will urge governors to make wearing masks compulsory in their
respective states, apart from making masks mandatory at all federal buildings
and interstate transportation.  

“And if
they refuse, I’ll go to the mayors and county executives and get local masking
requirements in place nationwide. Because masks will save lives,” he said.

The 77-year-old
said that he will formulate a national testing plan with the goal of testing as
many people each day as are currently being tested each week.

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Describing
the plan as a ‘Biden-Harris agenda’, he said all Americans need to be united in
order to prevail over the virus.

“And that’s
not hyperbole, all of us working together, watching out for one another. We’re
all still going to have to wear a mask or practise social distancing a while
longer. It’s going to be hard,” he said.

“But if we
follow the science and keep faith with one another, I promise you, we’ll get
through this and come out the other side much faster than the rate we’re going
now. Look, you all know this. The American people have always given their best
to this country in times of crisis. And this time isn’t any different,” the
former vice president added.