Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States while the country grapples with one of the biggest health crises in its history.
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 24 million in the U.S. and killed more than 400,000 people, a devastating milestone the country just reached Tuesday. While two vaccines have been authorized and are being administered, the pace is sluggish and in many areas the effort lacks organization. That has led to delays and in some cases wasted doses.
Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, have a lot more in their platform in addition to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other top priorities include plans to reinvigorate the Affordable Care Act and build on it while attempting to roll back some of the previous administration's most conservative regulations. More ambitious proposals around lowering the Medicare age and adding a public option will be heavier lifts.
Biden, aided by majorities in Congress, will tackle all this with an impeachment trial still looming.
This package of stories examines those challenges and the people who will be leading the efforts to combat them.