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| Kevin Lamarque/Reuters |
At the outset of the pandemic, the government undertook a deliberate effort to reduce economic activity in what was widely thought to be a necessary measure to slow the spread of COVID-19. Whereas most recessions call for policy that stimulates the economy, the COVID-19 recession called for the opposite — measures that would enable workers and businesses to hit pause until a vaccine or therapeutic became widely available.
Now that vaccines are being administered, policy-makers face a different challenge — not keeping Americans inside, but getting them back to work as quickly as possible. In this context, President-elect Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package misses the mark.
The proposal gives a nod to public health — with $20 billion allocated to vaccine distribution, $50 billion to testing, and $40 billion to medical supplies and emergency-response teams — but fails to address the most pressing hurdles to COVID-19 immunity. Vaccines sit unused not for lack of funding but thanks to burdensome rules determining which patients can receive shots and which doctors can administer them. Additional spending to speed up vaccine distribution is welcome, but its effects will be muted if bureaucratic hurdles remain in place. --->READ MORE HERE
Health and Human Services administrator Alex Azar said Monday if the incoming Biden administration achieves its goal of 100 million shots in arms in the first 100 days, that would be a “squandering of the opportunity” the Trump White House has laid out for them.
Incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Team Biden is “inheriting a huge mess” when it comes to vaccine distribution and that they would set a goal of “100 million inoculations in 100 days.”
Azar, speaking on Fox News, said Klain’s comments were part of an effort by the Biden administration to “down talk where things are so they can look like heroes when they come in” and ride on the momentum that Operation Warp Speed has already created, adding that 900,000 vaccinations are being administered each day.
“This whole President-elect Biden and ‘we’ll have 100 million shots in arms by the end of April,’ the first 100 days. We will have distributed 250 million doses of vaccine by the end of April. If they’ve only done 100 million vaccinations by then, it will be a tragic squandering of the opportunity that we handed them,” he said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to related stories and resources:
Tracking COVID-19 vaccine distribution by state: How many people in the US have received a shot?
Senior Citizens Must Figure Out Lengthy, 'Confusing' Process in Order to Receive Vaccinations
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
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