Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Biden marks 1st virus year: ‘We all lost’

Plan laid for all U.S. adults to be shot-eligible by May

- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON — One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronaviru­s, President Joe Biden used his first prime-time address Thursday to outline his plan to make all adults vaccine-eligible by May 1 and get the country “closer to normal” by the Fourth of July. He offered Americans fresh hope and appealed anew for their help.

Speaking in the White House East Room, Biden announced moves to speed vaccinatio­ns, including directing that states lift qualificat­ions for vaccinatio­ns by May 1, and expand the number of places and categories of people who can give shots. His aim: Let Americans gather at least in small groups for the Independen­ce Day holiday.

Biden was marking one year since the onset of the pandemic that has killed

more than 530,000 Americans and disrupted the lives of countless more.

“While it was different for everyone, we all lost something,” Biden said, calling the past year “a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice.”

Biden announced that he is deploying an additional 4,000 active-duty troops to support vaccinatio­n efforts and will allow more people — such as medical students, veterinari­ans and dentists — to deliver shots. He is also directing more doses toward some 950 community health centers and up to 20,000 retail pharmacies to make it easier for people to get vaccinated closer to their homes.

As supplies of the vaccines continue to increase, Biden announced that he will direct states and territorie­s to make all adults eligible for vaccinatio­n by May 1. The U.S. is expecting delivery of enough doses for those 255 million adults by the end of that month, but the process of actually administer­ing those doses will take time.

Even as he offers optimism, Biden made clear that the July 4 timetable requires cooperatio­n from Americans to continue to wear face coverings, maintain social distancing and follow federal guidelines meant to slow the spread of the virus in the near term. He also called on them roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated as soon as they’re eligible.

This is “not the time to not stick with the rules,” Biden said, warning of the potential for backslidin­g just as the nation is on the cusp of defeating the virus. “I need you, the American people,” he added. “I need you. I need every American to do their part.”

The speech was made hours after Biden on Thursday signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package that he said will help defeat the virus, nurse the economy back to health and deliver direct aid to Americans in need.

“This historic legislatio­n is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed the bill in the Oval Office.

The first round of stimulus payments of up to $1,400 could go out this weekend to Americans whose direct deposit bank account informatio­n is already on hand at the IRS, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday.

The stimulus law also extends $300 weekly emergency unemployme­nt benefits into early September. Also included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care and family leave — some of them credits that Democrats have signaled they’d like to make permanent — plus spending for renters, feeding programs and people’s utility bills.

The House gave final congressio­nal approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote Wednesday, seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republican­s in both chambers opposed the legislatio­n unanimousl­y, characteri­zing it as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the crises are easing.

Democrats have pledged to promote the bill heavily in the coming months, touting it as one of the most significan­t anti-poverty proposals that Congress has adopted in a generation. Biden, meanwhile, is expected to embark on a cross-country tour to sell the rescue plan to voters, including a trip to Pennsylvan­ia scheduled for Tuesday. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband are set to deliver the same message out west, although details of the trip are not yet clear.

For now, Biden’s signature on the law puts the U.S. government on track to start delivering some of the $1.9 trillion in new coronaviru­s support, including the stimulus checks. Administra­tion officials have said a large number of Americans could receive their checks before the end of the month since the IRS, which is implementi­ng the program, has delivered such aid in the past.

Other elements of the law may prove much tougher to implement, as the U.S. government must grapple with complex new mandates to deliver it in a tight time frame. That includes some of the changes to unemployme­nt benefits and the new payments to be provided to Americans who have children, meaning it could be weeks or months before some families start to see the full scope of support authorized under the law. The White House said this week that it would authorize an official to oversee stimulus spending across government.

Its passage offered an early economic jolt: Two airline giants, United Airlines and American Airlines, said this week that they would cancel tens of thousands of layoffs as a result of aid they are set to receive under the stimulus law. The Metropolit­an Transit Authority of New York, which oversees the city’s buses and trains, said the money would help stave off layoffs and other service cuts in the face of a rapidly dwindling budget situation.

Biden originally planned to sign the bill today, but it arrived at the White House more quickly than anticipate­d.

“We want to move as fast as possible,” tweeted chief of staff Ron Klain.

Earlier Thursday, previewing his remarks, Biden said he would “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation this past year, but more importantl­y, I’m going to talk about what comes next.”

In his remarks, Biden encouraged Americans to remain vigilant despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities given the promise of vaccines. Speaking on the one-year anniversar­y of the World Health Organizati­on’s declaratio­n of a pandemic, he mourned the dead, but also projected optimism about the future.

But the president also warned that “we may have to reinstate restrictio­ns” if Americans fail to stay vigilant about social distancing and other precaution­s to help stem the virus.

“Please, we don’t want to do that again, we’ve made so much progress,” he said, adding, “This is not the time to let up.”

Biden’s evening remarks in the East Room are central to a pivotal week for the president as he addressed the defining challenge of his term: shepherdin­g the nation through the twin public health and economic storms brought about by the virus.

“This is a chance for him to really beam into everybody’s living rooms and to be both the mourner in chief and to explain how he’s leading the country out of this,” presidenti­al historian and Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley said before Biden’s remarks.

“This is a big moment,” Brinkley added. “He’s got to win over hearts and minds for people to stay masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that after the last year, the federal government hasn’t forgotten you.”

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released initial guidance for how vaccinated people can resume some normal activities. On Wednesday, Congress approved the president’s $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” aimed at easing the economic impact of the virus on tens of millions of people. And the nation was on pace to administer its 100 millionth dose of vaccine.

Almost exactly one year ago, President Donald Trump addressed the nation to mark the WHO’s declaratio­n of a global pandemic. He announced travel restrictio­ns and called for Americans to practice good hygiene but displayed little alarm about the forthcomin­g catastroph­e. Trump, it was later revealed, acknowledg­ed that he had been deliberate­ly “playing down” the threat of the virus.

For Biden, the imperative is to strike the correct balance “between optimism and grief,” said Princeton history professor and presidenti­al scholar Julian Zelizer.

“Generally, the country likes optimism, and at this particular moment they’re desperate for optimism, but you can’t risk a ‘Mission Accomplish­ed’ moment,’” he said, warning against any premature declaratio­n that the threat has been vanquished.

The first round of stimulus payments of up to $1,400 could go out this weekend to Americans whose direct deposit bank account informatio­n is already on hand at the IRS, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

 ?? (The New York Times/Doug Mills) ?? Calling the past year “a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice,” President Joe Biden encouraged Americans in his national address Thursday night to remain vigilant, despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities. Biden spoke to the nation hours after signing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package. More photos at arkansason­line.com/312dc/.
(The New York Times/Doug Mills) Calling the past year “a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice,” President Joe Biden encouraged Americans in his national address Thursday night to remain vigilant, despite “virus fatigue” and growing impatience to resume normal activities. Biden spoke to the nation hours after signing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package. More photos at arkansason­line.com/312dc/.
 ?? (The New York Times/Doug Mills) ?? President Joe Biden signs the coronaviru­s relief package Thursday in the Oval Office. “This historic legislatio­n is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed it.
(The New York Times/Doug Mills) President Joe Biden signs the coronaviru­s relief package Thursday in the Oval Office. “This historic legislatio­n is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said as he signed it.

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