Biden: We’ll ‘manage the hell’ out of virus response
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden pledged Friday to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader COVID strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority communities are not left out.
“Some wonder if we are reaching too far,” Biden said. “Let me be clear, I’m convinced we can get it done.”
The real payoff, Biden said, will come from uniting the nation in a new effort grounded in science.
Biden spoke a day after unveiling a $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” to confront the virus and provide temporary support for a shaky economy. About $400 billion of the plan is focused on measures aimed at controlling the virus. Those range from mass vaccination centers to more sophisticated scientific analysis of new strains and squads of local health workers to trace the contacts of infected people.
“You have my word: We will manage the hell out of this operation,” Biden declared. He underscored a need for Congress to approve more money and for people to keep following basic precautions, such as wearing masks, avoiding gatherings and frequently washing their hands.
Throughout the plan, there’s a focus on ensuring that minority communities that have borne the brunt of the pandemic are not shortchanged on vaccines and treatments.
A key challenge for Biden and the nation: Vaccines are in tooshort supply.
Biden said he would use the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law, to boost vaccine supplies and work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up 100 vaccination centers around the country by the end of his first month in office.
“Almost a year later, we’re still far from back to normal. The honest truth is this: Things will get worse before they get better,” he said Friday, as U.S. deaths climbed closer to 400,000.
Biden seconded the Trump administration’s call earlier this week for states to start vaccinating more seniors, reaching those 65 and older as well as younger people with certain health prob
lems. Until now states have been focused on inoculating health care workers, and some are starting to vaccinate people 75 and older. Relatively few are providing shots to people between 65 and 75.
Another carryover from the Trump administration plan: Biden said he intends to mobilize local pharmacies to administer vaccines.
“Is it achievable?” he asked. “It’s a legitimate question to ask. Let
me be clear. I’m convinced we can get it done.”
In fact, Dr. Leana Wen, a public health expert and emergency physician, said the president-elect should aim higher.
“At this point, mass vaccination is our last and best chance to restoring normalcy,” she said. “There should be no expenses spared in the vaccine rollout. A hundred million in 100 days needs to be seen as only a start.”
As Biden spoke, some governors blasted the Trump administration for what at least one said was “deception” in suggesting earlier this week that a reserve of vaccine doses was ready to ship, augmenting supplies. An administration official said states have still not ordered all of the doses allocated to them, and called it a problem with states’ expectations.
Biden committed to better communication with the states, to avoid surprises about how much vaccine they can expect. His plan calls for the federal government to fully reimburse states that mobilize their National Guards to help distribute vaccines.
His plan comes as a divided nation is in the grip of the pandemic’s most dangerous wave yet. “We remain in a very dark winter,” Biden said.
The political outlook for his rescue legislation remains unclear, although a powerful business lobbying group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, welcomed its focus on controlling the pandemic.
“This is not a political issue,” Biden said. “This is about saving lives. I know it’s become a partisan issue, but what a stupid, stupid thing to happen.”