WASHINGTON – Elected President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who opposes an increase in coronavirus cases and the emergence of a new variant that could exacerbate the crisis, plans to launch a vaccination offensive that will significantly increase access to the vaccine. enlarged during the war. law to increase production.
In a speech Friday in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Biden told Americans that “we are staying in a very dark winter,” and this allows: “the honest truth is: things will get worse before they get better.”
“I told you,” he said, “I will always be right with you.” But he also tried to offer hope for an end to a pandemic that took nearly 390,000 American lives and weakened the country’s economic and social structure.
“Our plan is as clear as it sounds: get more people vaccinated for free, create more places to be vaccinated, mobilize more medical teams to get the shots in people’s arms, increase the offer and take it out the door as soon as possibly, ‘he said, calling it’ one of the most challenging operational efforts ever by our country ‘.
He promised to sharpen the availability of vaccinations in pharmacies, build mobile clinics to get vaccines in rural and urban communities and encourage countries to be eligible for those aged 65 and over. Mr. Biden also promised to make racial equity a priority in the fight against a virus that has infected and killed people of color disproportionately.
“You have my word,” he declared, “we will get on with this operation.”
But the president-elect’s far-reaching vision clashes with a sobering reality: with only two federally-approved vaccines, supplies will be scarce for the next few months, which will frustrate some state and local health officials who were hoping for the release of a federal stock vaccine doses announced this week could alleviate the shortage.
Mr. Biden is clearly prepared to play a role for the federal government that President Trump refused to accept, using the crisis to rebuild the country’s public health services and Washington’s money to hire a new health workforce and deploy the National Guard. But many of his daring promises will be difficult to fulfill.
Even if Mr. Asking him to defend the defense production law in the Korean War could take some time to alleviate the shortage of vaccines. The law has already been enacted, with an important but limited effect. His promises to build mass vaccination centers that are federally supported and to develop new programs to serve people at high risk, including disabilities and those in jail, will only work if there are vaccines to administer.
“This does not mean that everyone in this group will be vaccinated immediately, as the offer is not where it should be,” he said. Prayed. But as new doses become available, he promises, “We will reach more people who need them.”
The plan for the distribution of vaccines comes one day after Mr. Biden proposed a $ 1.9 billion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, including a $ 20 billion ‘national vaccine program’. The president-elect has repeatedly said he intends to get “100 million Covid vaccine shots in the arms of the American people” by his 100th day in office.
Time is of the essence. With the number of deaths now leading to nearly 4,000 a day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded the alarm Friday about a rapidly spreading, much more contagious variant of the coronavirus that is expected to be the dominant source of infection in the United States against March, which could possibly fuel another furious resurgence of cases and deaths.
“I think we are going to see the big transfer in this country in six to eight weeks like in England,” said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Center for Research and Policy on Infectious Diseases at the University, said. of Minnesota and a member of Mr. Biden’s coronavirus advisory board. “If we can set up vaccination clinics faster and more efficiently, how many lives will we save?”
In some ways, Biden’s plan reflects the plan adopted this week by Mr. Trump’s health secretary, Alex M. Azar II, was fired, urging states to vaccinate 65-year-olds and older. The Trump administration has also promised to hire pharmacies to deliver shots and to invoke the Defense Production Act, if necessary.
When Mr. Azar announced on Tuesday that the federal government is releasing a stockpile of vaccine doses, some health officials expected to get more in their weekly shipments to address the rising demand as the pandemic rages out of control.
But now the states are facing a harsh reality. The stock only consisted of vaccines earmarked for shots for people who had already received a first dose. This means that the release of this pool will not extend the vaccination to a new group of people. Federal officials said second doses would be preferred in the weekly deliveries to ensure everyone gets a boost chance.
Government Kate Brown of Oregon, a Democrat, posted on Twitter that On Thursday night, she received ‘disturbing news’: ‘States will not receive increased vaccines from the national stock next week because there are no federal doses.’ She added: “I am shocked and shocked that they set an expectation that they could not meet, with such serious consequences.”
A senior administrative official said Friday that the government expects the two companies producing vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, to deliver eight to 12 million doses a week to the public over the next few weeks. their first and second shots. The two companies have agreed with the federal government to deliver a total of 200 million doses to the United States by the end of March – or enough to vaccinate 100 million people completely.
The European Union is also struggling with shortages amid news that Pfizer plans to halt production of its vaccine for weeks as it upgrades its factory in Puurs, Belgium, to reach its target of producing two billion doses this year – compared to its previous target of 1.3 billion. The move will reduce delivery to European Union member states as well as other countries.
The plan that Mr. Biden announced Friday is part of a broader effort to use the current crisis to rebuild the country’s crumbling public health infrastructure – a long-standing goal of Democrats on Capitol Hill. As part of its stimulus package, he also proposed increasing federal funding for community health centers and called for a new ‘public health work program’ that would fund 100,000 public health workers to participate in vaccination and contact tracing.
“The details have yet to be worked out, but it is really a critical recognition that state and local health institutions need to be suspended in a way that it has not been for decades,” said Dr. Osterholm said.
But dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer of the Association of Civil Servants and Territorial Health Officers, issued a warning about the idea and said Mr. Biden requests to consult with members of his group before creating a new corps of public health workers.
“We would like to see him bring a few more people with experience on the ground to his team,” said Dr. Plescia said. ‘One of the things with a federal corps for jobs is: how do the people liaise with the state departments of public health? You really have to think about it. ”
Mr. Biden’s effort to improve public health infrastructure is reminiscent of the approach he and President Barack Obama followed with the recession-stricken economy they inherited in 2009, when Mr. Biden was the newly inaugurated vice president. Rahm Emanuel, then chief of staff to Obama, then said that a serious crisis should never ‘go to waste’ because it can provide an opportunity to do things you would not be able to do before. ‘
In an interview Friday, Mr. Emanuel, who served two terms as mayor of Chicago, praised Biden for his plan to invest in such clinics – also known as federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs.
“The FQHC is particularly the best preventive health care for communities that are difficult to reach,” he said. Emanuel said and said: “what is wonderful about this investment that the elected president is making is that it lays a foundation” for a strong public health response to future crises.
Mr. Biden has long promised to lead a much more aggressive federal response than Mr. Trump’s leave-it-to-the-states approach.
On Friday, the team of mr. Biden also announced that they plan to phase out Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s rapid vaccination initiative. Dr. David A. Kessler, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration, who Mr. Biden has advised on the pandemic, will lead the effort of the new administration to accelerate the development and production of Covid-19 vaccines.
“OWS is the name of the Trump team for their program,” said Jennifer Psaki, Biden’s spokeswoman. wrote on Twitter, use the initials of the program. “We are phasing in a new structure that will have a different name than OWS.”