(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — With the COVID-19 pandemic evolving with new variants of the virus being detected across the globe, alongside a hitch in the early rollout of vaccinations, President Joe Biden admitted he cannot give an exact date when life will return to normal.

The president visited a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Friday to oversee what efforts are being enacted to ramp up production.  When speaking to the press, President Biden was asked about when will Americans feel a sense of normalcy again — a date the president admitted he does not yet know.

“I can’t give you a date when this crisis will end, but I can tell you we’re doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later,” President Biden said, insisting he remains hopeful that things will change for the better by the end of the year. “God willing, this Christmas will be different than last.”

The White House has doubled down on the importance of sites such as Pfizer’s vaccine plant, saying they are critical in maximizing distribution efforts and manufacturing capacity.

COVID-19 has infected over 28.1 million Americans and, in the U.S., killed nearly half a million people, reports Johns Hopkins University.  

The death toll currently stands at over 498,800 — which is a little under the total population of Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta.