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President-elect Joe Biden chose Dr. David Kessler, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration who helped lead the development of drugs to combat the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s, to shepherd vaccine distribution for COVID-19, the Biden transition team announced Friday. Kessler will replace Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a researcher and former drug company executive, to head Operation Warp Speed. Kessler’s responsibilities will cover manufacturing, distribution, and the safety and efficacy of vaccines and therapeutic.

The pace of vaccination distribution has fallen below expectations. Biden’s goal is to provide 100 million vaccinations during the first 100 days of his administration starting Jan. 20. Twenty-two million doses have been distributed and 6.7 million administered as of Jan. 8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We are in a race against time, and we need a comprehensive strategy to quickly contain this virus," Biden said in a statement. More than 385,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, with more than 4,300 on Tuesday alone. – Bart Jansen

It’s not clear if President-elect Joe Biden will have any of his national security nominees confirmed by Day 1 of his presidency, a break with past practice. The Senate Intelligence Committee was supposed to hold a hearing Friday for Biden’s chief intelligence nominee, Avril Haines. But at the last minute, the committee announced a delay, without specifying the reasons.