Covid-19 vaccine will not be mandatory: Joe Biden

US President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday that Americans will not be forced to take the coronavirus vaccine and he is willing to get vaccinated publicly to assuage any concerns about its efficacy and safety.

I don’t think they should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it to be mandatory, but I would do everything in my power just like I don’t think masks have to be made mandatory nationwide,” Biden told reporters at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden was responding to a question if Covid-19 vaccine be made mandatory.

Biden, who is due to take office on January 20, said he will make sure that the vaccine is both free and available and that any follow up on the vaccine is free and available that relates to any health complications from it.

“I will do everything in my power as the president of the United States to encourage people to do the right thing, and when they do it, demonstrate that it matters. That’s why I said in my inaugural speech I’m going to ask people to commit for 100 days to wear a mask, not because I’m asking it for any reason to punish-this is not a political issue,” he said.