Biden optimistic US will be in ‘very different circumstance’ with pandemic by Christmas

President Biden on Tuesday said he expected the country will be in significantly better shape in fighting the pandemic by September and that the country will be “in a very different circumstance” by Christmas.

Biden offered his timeline for when the country might return to something more akin to pre-pandemic life during a CNN town hall while cautioning that he did not want to overpromise.

“All the experts … they tell me be careful not to predict things that you don’t know for certain it’s going to happen,” Biden said.

He went on to offer an optimistic view of the coming months in which the Johnson & Johnson vaccine helps the country reach herd immunity more quickly. 

“If that works that way, as my mother would say, with the grace of God and the good will of the neighbors, that by next Christmas I think we’ll be in a very different circumstance, God willing, than we are today,” Biden said.

“A year from now, I think that there’ll be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced, have to wear masks, etc.,” he continued. “But we don’t know. So I don’t want to overpromise anything here. I told you when I ran and when I got elected, I will always level with you.”

Biden added that it is “highly unlikely that by the beginning of next year’s traditional school year in September we are not significantly better off than we are today.”

The president concluded by urging Americans to continue wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing their hands.

Earlier in the town hall, Biden said the country would have enough vaccine doses that any American who wants a shot can get one. But he acknowledged that would not mean every American would have received a shot by then.