How Joe Biden Plans to Fight COVID in the First 100 Days of His Life
President-elect Joe Biden walks into the White House on a mission to save the United States from a pandemic that has killed nearly 290,000 Americans in nine months. While he awaits his inauguration, COVID-19 is spreading across the country; the number of hospitalizations is gradually exceeding the previous highs; unemployment is also at an all-time high, and the outgoing president still claims repeatedly that the election was rigged.
Biden understands the gigantic task ahead, or at least suggested it at a recent event in Delaware when he laid out his three-phase plan to contain the pandemic during his first 100 days in office. The plan itself seems relatively simple and is based on some standard epidemiology protocols such as wearing masks and distributing the vaccine. Particular attention will be paid to the safe reopening of schools in the first three months of the president-elect.
As the time approaches January 20, 2021, you should familiarize yourself with these rules. Here’s what you can expect as the future president tries to curb the pandemic.
Masks mandates
While the president cannot issue a binding mandate to use masks throughout the country, the federal government will enforce camouflage in certain areas that it can control under Joe Biden. The president-elect has pledged to sign a mandate for the mask on his first day in office, making it mandatory to wear a face on federal buildings, planes, trains and buses that cross state lines. The rule will only last 100 days, Biden said, and he consistently notes that he intends to stick to the mainstream medical consensus and experts throughout his tenure.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, whom Trump regularly sidelined during his rule, will remain in the White House as Biden’s chief medical adviser.
Distribution of the vaccine
With vaccinations taking place in the United Kingdom and the vaccine being distributed in the US, Biden has pledged to deliver and administer 100 million doses within the first 100 days. Health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities will be first on the list to receive the vaccines, although educators are the top priority, according to CNN .
These guidelines are consistent with the CDC, or more specifically, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – the body within the CDC that advises on vaccine distribution and general best practices. Based on the ethical guidelines of the ACIP, it is highly likely that key workers will follow nursing home residents on the vaccination priority list.
The US is already getting a head start on Biden’s goal. Dr. Fauci said on Tuesday that “mass vaccinations” could begin by the end of December after the FDA concluded that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine met “criteria for success.”
Opening schools
In a speech in Delaware, Biden urged Congress to make this more feasible.
According to Yahoo Finance , the President-elect said:
In a hundred days, it must be a national priority to get our children back to school and keep them in school if Congress provides us with the funding we need to protect students, teachers and staff. If states and cities have strict public health measures that we all follow, my team will work to ensure that most of our schools are open by the end of my first 100 days.
Biden’s call for congressional support hinges on the passage of a COVID relief bill . However, Congress is currently at a standstill over the provisions outlined in the bill, which is estimated at approximately $ 900 billion. However, the plan to open schools seems to be the most difficult, as it depends on the characteristics of the various state governments, their allocation of financial resources and related health policies.
As we wait for the mass vaccinations to take effect for a long time, it is good to know the new administration’s plans to combat this disorder.