The big points on strengthening Joe Biden’s vaccination plan

Amid an aggressive strategy to combat the spread of the Delta variant, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a six point plan that will affect almost every aspect of society, in what is considered the widest use of his presidential authority since taking office in January.

That’s what the plan says.

– Promulgation of new vaccine requirements

In an effort to increase the number of Americans vaccinated, the Department of Labor will design an emergency regulation that all private sector companies with more than 100 employees must require their employees to be fully vaccinated or HIV negative for COVID at least once a week. The measure will affect some 80 million workers. Employers will also be required to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated.

Building on his previous initiative to vaccinate federal workers, Biden signed an executive order requiring all federal employees and contractors to be vaccinated, bar none so they would not have to comply with the requirement.

Biden said he intends to expand the immunization mandate that applies to healthcare workers caring for Medicare and Medicaid patients in nursing homes so that it applies to all other medical facilities, including hospitals and home care.

“The waiting time has expiredThe president said, estimating that the strategy could reach about 100 million Americans, or two-thirds of the workforce.

– Facilitate access to the booster dose

Biden said booster doses are essential to protect Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus. Government doctors “believe that a booster will likely offer the highest possible level of protection,” he said.

The government has purchased the vaccines needed to give Americans a third booster dose and said the federal government is “ready to administer them as soon as they are authorized.”

It is not yet known when these booster doses will be available to the public, and Thursday Biden reiterated the The government promises that it will not offer the additional doses until federal regulators give the green light.

Leading health officials last week asked the White House to stop a plan to offer booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the general public this month, saying their agencies needed more time to collect and review all relevant information.

– Keep the virus out of schools

Biden has announced a series of measures aimed at preventing the coronavirus from spreading in schools and infecting children under the age of 12, who are not yet of vaccination age.

He also urged parents not to stop vaccinating children over 12; and he called on state governments to demand that all teachers and school staff be immunized.

Biden also said that approximately 300,000 educators working in federally administered school programs would be required to be vaccinated. “About 90 percent of teachers and education staff are vaccinated,” he said. “We have to do it 100 percent”.

Although no vaccine has yet been approved for children under 12, the president said he continued to support the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its efforts to pass a “as fast and safe as possible”.

The president also criticized the attack on some elected officials, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is repealing local mandates for the use of masks (many of which relate to schools). Biden said the Education Department was moving to take legal action against such efforts and promised the federal government would compensate any educator whose salary is withheld “for doing the right thing.”

“Right now, local school authorities are trying to protect children in the event of a pandemic while their governor fights with them. It really is intimidation, ”he said.

– More tests and masks

As part of a larger effort to boost the accessibility and availability of testing, the president said his government had partnered with some retailers, such as Amazon and Walmart, to reduce the cost of rapid COVID-19 tests that can be performed at home.

This proposal includes the allocation of nearly $ 2 billion to purchase some 300 million rapid tests for use in community health centers, food banks and schools, “so that all Americans, regardless of their income, can access free, convenient tests.”

He also stated that the Transportation Security Administration double fines for travelers who refuse to wear face masks.

“If you break the rules, be prepared to pay,” Biden said.

– Support for economic recovery

The president said that expand loan programs managed by the Federal Small Business Agency, These allow small business owners to borrow money at low interest rates in order to hire and retain employees, buy inventory, or even pay off debt, as the coronavirus continues to decline. ‘affect businesses.

Biden announced that the economy currently creates an average of 700,000 new jobs per month, but noted that the recovery is not yet complete.

“Although the United States is much better than it was seven months ago when I took office,” he said, “we still have several hurdles, and this could take some time.”

– Improve the intervention and treatment of the virus

The president also presented measures to deal with the growing number of infections and hospitalizations, such as step up aid to overburdened hospitals and speed up new treatment methods.

Biden said he would deploy “emergency teams” which would include experts from various government agencies “to slow the spread of COVID-19,” adding to health care teams already deployed by the federal government.

The president also promised to increase the availability of different treatments tested and recommended by doctors, even with more deliveries of monoclonal antibodies.

© The New York Times 2021

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