President Biden Confronts SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)-an update

update March 12, 2021

On March 11, President Biden addressed the country about the current progress of ending the pandemic. He said

I carry a card in my pocket with the number of Americans who have died from COVID to date. It’s on the back of my schedule. As of now, the total deaths in America: 527,726.

President Biden

He announced we will have enough vaccine for every adult to be vaccinated by the end of May.

Concerning current vaccination progress, we have vaccinated

• 65% of people over age 65
• 70% of people over age 70

Concerning schools he said

with the passage of the American Rescue Plan — I thank the House and Senate for passing it — and my…. plan to vaccinate teachers and school staff….. we can accelerate the massive, nationwide effort to reopen our schools safely and meet my goal… of opening the majority of K-8 schools in my first 100 days in office. This is going to be the number one priority of my new Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.

President Biden

Thanks to usnews.com for publishing the complete transcript of his speech at this link.

President Joe Biden on the Coronavirus Pandemic

Continue here for the original post from February 1,2021

During the presidential campaign last year, I wrote a blog post outlining the healthcare plans of both major party candidates. Here is the recently updated post about now President Joe Biden.

The United States government and healthcare

Here is a brief review of the healthcare agencies of the United States government.

The sitting President heads the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.

The Department of Health and Human Services ,through the President’s Cabinet secretary, manages the response to COVID-19. Other Cabinet members and their Departments are involved as well.

The agencies most involved in the COVID-19 response include

• Health and Human Services-HHS
• Federal Emergency Management Agency-FEMA
• Centers for Disease Control-CDC
• National Institutes of Health-NIH
• Federal Drug Administration-FDA
• Small Business Administration-SBA
• Veterans Administration-VA
• Department of Defense -DOD
• Treasury Department
• State Department

2020-The Biden-Harris Plan

During the campaign, Mr. Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris posted a 7 point plan to confront and control COVID-19. Here is a link to that plan.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris-7 point plan to beat COVID-19 and get our country back on track

December 31, 2019-China reports the coronavirus to WHO-the World Health Organization.

2021-National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness

President Biden, Vice President Harris, and their science and healthcare teams have developed a plan with 7 goals to end this pandemic and prevent others. You can read the entire 200 page report at the link. Here is a list of the 7 goals with a few of the points of each goal.

1. Restore trust with the American people.

• establishes a federal COVID-19 response team to coordinate efforts
• regular public briefings led by science experts
• track and make data available to the public by the CDC

2.Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.

• increase the production of vaccines
• give states clearer projections on vaccine availability
• partner with states to create more vaccine centers
• launch a national campaign to educate and encourage Americans on vaccine

3. Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments,health care workforce, and clear public health standards.

• asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days (note-this adds to any state or local recommendations or mandates on mask use)
• require masks on public transportation
• the CDC develop guidelines to help schools and businesses to reopen
• create programs to develop new treatments for COVID-19

4.Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defence Production Act.

• increase emergency funding to the states for pandemic costs, including for PPE and use of National Guard
• invoke the Defense Production Act to increase the supply of PPE, and testing and vaccination supplies

5. Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.

• develop a national strategy to reopen most schools within 100 days
• federal agencies to issue updated guidance on protection for workers
• asks Congress to provide financial aid to schools, universities, and daycares (cost in the billions)

6. Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.

• establishes an equity task force to address disparities based on race, ethnicity, and geography
• create a U.S. Public Health Workforce to help with testing and vaccinations in their communities

7. Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

• rejoin the World Health Organization
• increase humanitarian aid and support efforts to fight COVID-19 around the world
• asks for Congressional support to establish a national center to prepare for future biological threats

Exploring the HEART of health

I appreciate all of you who are following Watercress Words, and if you aren’t I invite you to join the wonderful people who are. You can meet some of them in the sidebar, where you can click on their image and visit their blogs. Use the form to get an email notification of new posts. Don’t worry, you won’t get anything else from me.

By following this blog, you’ll know when I post the additional pieces reviewing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other topics that explore the HEART of health.

Dr Aletha