WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden left his meeting with labor and business leaders with renewed energy on Monday afternoon, saying the conversation confirmed the message he campaigned on throughout the election: the nation is ready for unity. 

What You Need To Know

  • President-elect Joe Biden delivered an address about jump-starting the economy following a meeting with labor and business leaders on Monday

  • Biden said union leaders and corporate CEOs alike agreed that the primary focus should be on containing coronavirus

  • Biden slammed President Trump for refusing to cooperate with his transition team on how he plans to distribute a COVID vaccine

  • Both Moderna and Pfizer have announced vaccines that appear to be over 94% and 90% effective, respectively

"We just met with a group of America's top business leaders and labor leaders," Biden said following the meeting. "And I must tell you, it reinforced what I thought from the beginning: we're ready to come together." 

“They represent very different perspectives but I'm convinced we can come together at the same table to advance areas of common good,” Biden added. The group was made up of leaders from across the economic spectrum, ranging from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka to Microsoft president and CEO Satya Nadell. 

Despite the varied input, Biden said every attendee on the call agreed that the best way to jump-start the economy is to swiftly address the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Once we shut down the virus and deliver economic relief to workers and businesses, then we can start to build back better than before,” Biden said, stressing the importance of “rallying the country behind a national strategy with robust national health measures.”  

Many of these national strategies were cornerstones of Biden’s campaign, and he hasn’t changed his tune since becoming president-elect. Some of these measures, which Biden said were widely agreed upon during his call, will include providing more funding for local governments to give frontline workers, scaled up production of life-saving treatments, more widespread rapid testing, and equitable distribution of a vaccine. 

On Monday, Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from an ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own vaccine looked 90% effective — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S.

Biden hailed the news from both companies as positive while simultaneously slamming President Trump for refusing to share his vaccine distribution plan with Biden’s transition team, saying: “More people may die if we don't coordinate.”

President Trump has refused to concede the election to Biden, and has blocked Biden’s transition team from receiving the necessary funding and briefings typically given to presidents-elect

Biden added that he “would not hesitate” to take a vaccine should one be approved under Trump’s administration, but stressed that those in the most dire need should receive the treatment first. 

The president-elect also had a message for Republicans who are reluctant to recognize him as the incoming president.

“I will work with you. I understand a lot of your reluctance because of the way the president operates,” Biden said to Republicans in Congress, adding: “If it has to wait until January 20, that’s a shame. But maybe that's the only way to get it done.”  

Biden also laid out his plans for equitable economic recovery once the coronavirus pandemic is under control, saying he plans to invest in infrastructure, technology and clean energy jobs, and create American manufacturing jobs by encouraging companies to make their products in the U.S.

Still, Biden made sure viewers knew his priorities on day one of his presidency will be to address the coronavirus pandemic. Virus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend — 1 million of them recorded in just the past week — and governors and mayors are ratcheting up restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving. The outbreak has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, over 246,000 of them in the U.S.

"We're going into a very dark winter. Things are going to get much tougher before they get easier," Biden said Monday. "And that requires sparing no effort to fight covid so that we can open our businesses safely, resume our lives, and put this pandemic behind us. It's going to be difficult but it can be done." 

It was a message shared by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who introduced Biden ahead of his address. 

"As I said the night we won this election, now is when the real work begins, the necessary work ... the good work of getting this virus under control, saving lives and beating this pandemic," she said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.