How will Biden handle the pandemic differently?
| Wilmington, Del.
President-elect Joe Biden is unveiling a聽COVID-19 action plan that centers on mass vaccination and closer coordination聽across all levels of government.
The Biden plan comes as a divided nation remains caught in the grip of the pandemic鈥檚 most dangerous wave yet. So far, more than 380,000 Americans have聽died.
Mr. Biden hopes his multidimensional strategy, expected to be detailed in a Thursday evening speech, will put the country on the path to recovery by the end聽of his first 100 days. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hard,鈥� Mr. Biden said Monday after he got his second vaccine shot. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be easy. But we can get it done.鈥�
A more disciplined focus on vaccination is the new and widely anticipated game-changing element, but that鈥檚 far from the whole story.
Mr. Biden is asking Americans聽to override their sense of pandemic fatigue and recommit to wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and avoiding indoor gatherings, particularly larger聽ones. That鈥檚 still the surest way to break the COVID-19 wave, with more than 4,400 deaths reported on Tuesday alone.
Mr. Biden has also talked about asking Congress to pump more money to states, to help their efforts to contain the pandemic and replenish depleted coffers聽that pay for basic services. And Democratic lawmakers are eager to push for $2,000 economic stimulus payments to Americans.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the Biden COVID-19 package will be the first order of business this year.
But Mr. Biden鈥檚 biggest challenge is to 鈥渨in the hearts and minds of the American people to follow his lead,鈥� said Dr. Leana Wen, a public health expert and聽emergency physician.
With the backing of Congress and the expertise of private and government scientists, the Trump administration has delivered two highly effective vaccines聽and more are on the way. Yet a month after the first shots were given, the nation鈥檚 vaccination campaign is
off to a slow start聽鈥� about 10.3 million have gotten the first of two shots, although more than 29 million doses have been delivered.
Mr. Biden aims to speed that up by delivering more vaccines and working closely with states and local communities to get shots into the arms of more people.
The Trump administration provided the vaccine to states and set guidelines for who should get priority for shots, but largely left it up to state and local聽officials to organize their vaccination campaigns.
鈥淭his is going to entail coordination at all levels, as well as resources,鈥� said Dr. Nadine Gracia, executive vice president of the nonpartisan Trust for聽America鈥檚 Health. 鈥淭here is a commitment the [incoming] administration has articulated to address the needs of communities.鈥�
Mr. Biden has set a goal of administering 100 million shots in his first 100 days. The pace of vaccination is approaching 1 million shots a day, but 1.8 million聽a day would be needed to reach widespread or 鈥渉erd鈥� immunity by the summer, according to a recent estimate by the American Hospital Association. Dr. Wen says聽the pace should be even higher 鈥� closer to 3 million a day.
Mr. Trump repeatedly asserted the coronavirus would go away on its own. Early on, he said it would disappear with warmer weather, and later聽he said after the election. But Mr. Biden sees the pandemic on the level of an existential threat. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my No. 1 concern, to get the virus under control,鈥澛爃e said last week.
At the pinnacle of power, Mr. Trump鈥檚 leadership during the pandemic has been erratic. He did back 鈥淥peration Warp Speed 鈥� to quickly develop vaccines and聽treatments, but he also picked fights with leading government scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci and his own appointees聽at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mr. Biden has pledged to take his lead from science, and has named Dr. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as his top medical聽adviser. He has tapped businessman Jeff Zients, who has a reputation for successfully tackling complex missions, to coordinate the government鈥檚 coronavirus聽response. He鈥檚 also selected Yale medicine professor Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, to head an effort to ensure equity and fairness for racial and ethnic minorities聽in access to vaccines and treatments.
But he鈥檒l need more than top-resume talent, experts say. It鈥檚 still unclear how the new administration will address the issue of vaccine hesitancy, the聽doubts and suspicions that keep many people from getting a shot. Polls show it鈥檚 particularly a problem among Black Americans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to acknowledge聽the reasons why it exists and work to earn trust and build vaccine confidence in communities,鈥� said Dr. Gracia.
Next Wednesday, when Mr. Biden will be sworn in as president, marks the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Alonso-Zaldivar reported from Washington.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free
