The United States killed 405,000 people during World War II, 58,000 in Vietnam and 36,000 in Korea. “We have to resist the temptation to look at every life as a statistic … We have to do it to honor the dead,” President Joe Biden said in a televised address. “I want us to be active, to be vigilant, to keep our distance, to wear masks, to get vaccinated,” he added.
After the speech, Biden went out with his wife Jill, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff in front of the White House, AFP reported. The four bowed their heads for a moment, after which a military band played “Oh, Wonderful Grace.” They were surrounded by 500 lighted candles on the balcony and the staircase leading to it, symbolizing the 500,000 lives lost. At the end of the memorial service, Biden crossed himself and the four returned to the White House.
The Biden government is trying to speed up immunization against the deadly virus. So far, a total of 64.2 million doses of vaccines used in the United States have been injected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The president has set a goal of vaccinating at least 100 million people in his first 100 days in power. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer said yesterday that it expects to deliver more than 13 million doses a week of its vaccine against COVID-19 by mid-March, Reuters reported. This means twice as much as deliveries since the beginning of February. So far, Pfizer has shipped about 40 million doses to the United States.
Moderna said it plans to deliver 100m doses by the end of March and 300m by the end of July.
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