Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, systemic racism and climate change are the top priorities for the Biden administration, according to his transition team, as President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gear up for building back everything “better than ever”.

Following a tense week of vote tallying, Democratic presidential candidate Biden, 77, on Saturday won the state of Pennsylvania and vaulted ahead in the race to become the next president of the United States.

Biden’s win in the key battleground state put him over the threshold of 270 electoral votes, cutting off all avenues for his opponent, incumbent Republican President Donald Trump.

As Biden’s vice president, Harris, 56, will make history in myriad ways, becoming the first woman - and the first woman of colour - to occupy the office.

The Biden team updated its website to showcase four policy areas the incoming administration will prioritise: COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change. 

“We aren’t just going to rebuild what has worked in the past. This is our opportunity to build back better than ever,” said the Biden-Harris transition team on Sunday, giving details of the priorities for the next administration which will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

“President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are confronting a pandemic, an economic crisis, calls for racial justice, and climate change. The team being assembled will meet these challenges on Day One,” the campaign said.

Once sworn into office, Biden and Harris will provide the much-needed national leadership to tackle the pandemic and begin our nation’s recovery, it said.