US President-elect Joe Biden has set a goal of 100 million Covid vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.

He said his first months in office would not end the outbreak and gave few details on a rollout plan but he said he would change the course of Covid-19.

Introducing his health team for when he takes office on 20 January, he urged Americans to “mask up for 100 days”.

On Tuesday, a report paved the way for a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be approved and rolled out for Americans.

Emergency authorisation for its use could be issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, with the country’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci saying mass vaccination could start as soon as next week.

Also on Tuesday, President Donald Trump attended a summit at the White House of his Covid-19 vaccination programme, Operation Warp Speed, and hailed the expected approval of vaccines. His administration hopes to vaccinate as many as 24 million people by mid-January.

The US has recorded more than 15 million cases so far and 285,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University research, both global highs.

Many parts of the country are seeing peak infections, with record numbers of people in hospital, with some experts blaming travel by millions over the recent Thanksgiving holiday.