Biden plans to control virus, stabilize economy

President-elect to ask Congress for financial relief, speed vaccinations

WILMINGTON, DEL. — The coronavirus action plan presidentelect Joe Biden unveiled Thursday aims to bring new urgency to the nation’s vaccination campaign coupled with another round of economic relief for hunkered-down Americans.

The Biden plan comes as a divided nation remains caught in the grip of the pandemic’s most dangerous wave yet. So far, more than 385,000 have died in the U.S. And government numbers out Thursday reported a jump in weekly unemployment claims, to 965,000, a sign that rising infections are forcing businesses to cut back and lay off workers.

Biden hopes his multipronged strategy, detailed in a Thursday evening speech, will put the country on the path to recovery by the end of his first 100 days. “It’s going to be hard,” Biden said Monday after he got his second vaccine shot. “It’s not going to be easy. But we can get it done.”

A more disciplined focus on vaccination is the new and widely anticipated gamechanging element, but that’s far from the whole story. Biden is asking Americans to override their sense of pandemic fatigue and recommit to wearing masks, practising social distancing, and avoiding indoor gatherings, particularly larger ones. That’s still the surest way to break the COVID-19 wave, with more than 4,400 deaths reported just on Tuesday.

He’s also expects to ask Congress for another round of economic relief. Biden has already tweeted his support for a $2,000 stimulus check, saying that the previous check of $600 was “not enough when you have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the Biden COVID-19 package will be the first order of business this year. Democrats expect it will also include more aid for unemployed workers as well as money for state efforts to contain the pandemic and sustain basic services.

But Biden’s biggest challenge is to “win the hearts and minds of the American people to follow his lead,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a public health expert and emergency physician.

With the backing of Congress and the expertise of private and government scientists, the Trump administration has delivered two highly effective vaccines and more are on the way. Yet a month after the first shots were given, the nation’s vaccination campaign is off to a slow start with about 10.3 million people getting the first of two shots, although more than 29 million doses have been delivered.

Biden aims to speed that up by delivering more vaccine and working closely with states and local communities to get shots into the arms of more people.