How Biden plans to fight the pandemic: 100 million shots, 100 new vaccine centers, and lots more testing and PPE

How Biden plans to fight the pandemic: 100 million shots, 100 new vaccine centers, and lots more testing and PPE

President Biden issued several coronavirus-related executive orders during his first two days in office.
The orders aim to increase mask-wearing, accelerate vaccine distribution, and tighten international travel restrictions.
Over 100 days, Biden hopes to give most K-8 schools funding to reopen and administer at least 100 million shots.
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President Joe Biden took office Wednesday amid a deadly peak in the US coronavirus outbreak. On average, nearly 3,000 Americans are dying of COVID-19 every day. At that rate, 42 Americans would have died of COVID-19 during Biden's 21-minute inauguration speech alone.

The new president plans to take immediate action to vaccinate more Americans, reduce coronavirus transmission, and safely reopen schools and businesses.

"We're entering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus," Biden said in his inaugural address. "We must set aside politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation."

Of the more than two dozen executive actions Biden took on Wednesday and Thursday, several were directly related to the pandemic. Here's what to expect in the coming days, based on the president's long- and short-term goals to bring the nation closer to normal life.