Biden moves quickly on COVID-19 response
Signs orders aimed at boosting vaccine production, access
WASHINGTON — After months of watching from the sidelines as the coronavirus crisis worsened, President Joe Biden moved swiftly on his first full day in office Thursday to try to assert control over the nation’s pandemic response.
He signed 10 executive orders, including directives to boost the production of vaccines, ensure they reach hardhit communities and set up more locations where Americans can receive shots — all part of what he called “one of the greatest operational challenges our nation has ever undertaken.”
Biden also charged his administration with developing guidelines for reopening schools and improving data collection to track the battle against COVID-19.
Some of his initiatives are already in place in various forms. For example, he ordered federal agencies to require masks on airplanes and other public transportation, policies that are already enforced by airlines and transit agencies.
But with each signature the new president applied to the bound orders, as cameras recorded, he sent a message to beleaguered citizens and overworked local health officials that he and the federal government are taking charge rather than relying on state and local governments and private industries.
“For a nation waiting for action, let me be clearest on this point: Help is on the way,” Biden said in the State Dining Room of the White House before sitting down to sign the orders.
The country recorded a one-day record of 4,409 deaths on Wednesday, the day Biden was inaugurated, and it’s been averaging about 3,000 deaths a day for the past week. December was the deadliest month for the pandemic, and January is proving grim as well.
However, some signs of improvement are evident: The number of daily cases and hospitalizations dropped in recent days.
Biden warned as he has before that “things are going to continue to get worse before they get better,” trying to prepare the nation for bad news and perhaps blunt any blame he might otherwise get. One lesson he drew from his experience in the Obama administration, which took office amid the worst economic crisis since the Depression, is that by failing to sufficiently warn Americans that the recovery could be slow, Democrats in Congress suffered politically when it proved to be so.
Projections show that the COVID-19 death toll, currently at roughly 406,000, could reach 500,000 next month.
“We didn’t get into this mess overnight, and it’s going to take months for us to turn this around,” Biden said.
He is also reversing his predecessor’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top expert on infectious diseases, told the organization Thursday that the new administration plans to return to an active role in international efforts to distribute vaccines and combat the pandemic globally.
“The United States also intends to fulfill its financial obligations to the organization,” Fauci said. “The United States sees technical collaboration at all levels as a fundamental part of our relationship with WHO, one that we value deeply and will look to strengthen going forward.”
The White House is also welcoming top public health officials back to the briefing room.
“We will be honest, transparent and straightforward with the American people to restore that trust,” said Jeff Zients, who’s leading Biden’s COVID-19 task force.