Harnessing the private sector
Mobilizing businesses now can help the nation mount a determined campaign to beat COVID-19
One frustrating aspect of the yearlong fight against COVID-19 — there are so many from which to choose — is that for all the talk of being “in this together,” many constituencies have been pulling in different, even opposite, directions.
So it is a welcome development to see President Joe Biden enlist business leaders in its coronavirus efforts, since it could make a real difference as the United States looks to tame this disease once and for all.
Biden is not being overly dramatic when he compares these efforts to the homefront mobilization that was crucial to victory in World War II. As they were back in the 1940s, the stakes are high — more than 500,000 Americans have died of COVID so far, and many others have been left with long-term problems. The effects on the economy and on society are profound. And just as back then, if businesses and individuals do what they can to further the war effort, success is more likely.
Mobilization of America’s business community is overdue. The Trump administration did not seriously try to involve businesses in efforts to battle the pandemic in ways that other countries did.
In many respects, by lack of leadership and by bad examples, that administration promoted the notion that wearing masks, social distancing and limiting gatherings were more threatening to the economy than protective of public health.
As a result, the United States has been hit harder by the pandemic than almost any country. But we don’t have to keep making the same mistakes.
Mobilizing businesses now can help the nation mount a determined campaign to beat this virus.
This could be a decisive moment. People are starting to get vaccines, the numbers of new cases and deaths have been looking better, and spring is in the air. After a year, we’re weary of the pandemic and the changes it’s forced in our lives.
But health officials warn that, if we don’t do the right things, we could face a new wave, fueled by highly contagious variants.
The business community can help do what needs to be done.
The administration has formed a partnership with leading business groups including the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and groups representing Black, Asian, Latino and other businesses. Many, varied businesses are participating outside the partnership.
As in wartime mobilizations, businesses are making considerable resources available. They are providing technology, workers and buildings, including sports arenas, for vaccination clinics; offering free or discounted transportation to vaccination sites; giving workers time off and incentives to get vaccines; donating millions of free masks; and requiring employees to follow health protocols while working.
Businesses may also be able to help convince the public, however belatedly, that wearing a mask and taking other precautions is not about partisan politics. Andy Slavitt, the White House official leading the COVID response, said he hopes that employers can persuade workers to wear masks, avoid crowds and otherwise act responsibly when not at work by promoting the idea that combating COVID will be good for everyone. Ideally, such ideas and behaviors will take hold and spread.
The recent quick approval of a one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson makes prospects even brighter. It also offers a great example of how business mobilization can help: The Biden administration, worried about production delays at Johnson & Johnson, brokered an unusual deal in which Merck & Co., a leading vaccine maker, will help produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Officials referred to a “wartime effort” and “corporate citizenship.”
Now the United States is poised to get a lot more people vaccinated rapidly.
With the help of businesses, and the cooperation of their employees, more can be done to take effective precautions while stepping up vaccination efforts. We really are all in this together. It’s time to draw on all our resources to put this pandemic behind us.