Sept. 10, 2021 — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday night time together with his new “Path Out of the Pandemic” plan, a six-point agenda to place the nation heading in the right direction to defeat COVID-19, primarily by way of extra vaccine mandates, elevated testing, and masking necessities.
By way of the brand new plan, vaccination shall be required for roughly two-thirds of the nation’s workforce, or 100 million staff.
At the moment, the USA is averaging 150,000 new instances and 1,500 deaths every day, CNN reported.
“If we elevate our vaccination price, shield ourselves and others with masking and expanded testing, and determine people who find themselves infected, we will and we are going to flip the tide on COVID-19,” Biden stated in his speech.
There have been wide-ranging reactions to varied factors of the president’s new plan.
Vaccinating the Unvaccinated
Greater than 175 million People are absolutely vaccinated for COVID-19, however greater than 80 million eligible People haven’t obtained a shot.
The president stated it’s vital that extra of the unvaccinated inhabitants get inoculated if we need to absolutely beat the virus.
To encourage this, he signed govt orders for extra vaccine mandates.
Employers with greater than 100 workers should require both COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing for staff.
The brand new plan additionally requires vaccinations for federal staff and tens of millions of contractors of the federal authorities, in addition to vaccine mandates for over 17 million well being care staff at hospitals and clinics that take part in Medicare and Medicaid.
Some folks have stated they are going to probably resign from their jobs over the brand new vaccine mandates.
However others are attempting to remind those that weekly testing continues to be an possibility for a lot of unvaccinated People.
Whereas the hashtag #IwillNOTComply trended on Twitter after Biden’s speech, many individuals commented that they might fortunately take the roles of these protesting the mandates.
Additional Defending the Vaccinated
Biden stated his administration shall be prepared to supply COVID-19 booster pictures as early as Sept. 20, relying on the approval of the FDA and the CDC.
The president’s plan says that boosters shall be free and out there at greater than 80,000 areas throughout the nation, in locations like medical doctors’ workplaces, pharmacies, and different well being facilities.
“The choice of which booster pictures to present, when to start out them, and who will give them shall be left utterly to the scientists on the FDA and the Facilities for Illness Management,” Biden stated. “However whereas we wait, we’ve achieved our half. We’ve purchased sufficient boosters — sufficient booster pictures — and the distribution system is able to administer them.”
Many expressed aid about receiving a third dose of vaccine.
Whereas others stay confused concerning the science behind COVID-19 boosters and vaccines.
Maintaining Colleges Safely Open
The president’s plan provides new vaccine mandates and school security measures to make sure a secure, in-person studying setting for college kids, lecturers, and employees.
Ninety % of the nation’s lecturers and employees members in faculties are vaccinated, Biden stated.
Proper now, vaccines have been authorized for youngsters ages 12 years and older.
“What about kids below the age of 12 who can’t get vaccinated but? Nicely, one of the simplest ways for a mother or father to guard their baby below the age of 12 begins at house. Each mother or father, each teen sibling, each caregiver round them ought to be vaccinated,” Biden stated.
His plan would require vaccinations for lecturers and employees at Head Begin and Early Head Begin packages and Bureau of Indian Training-operated faculties, in addition to baby and youth program personnel on the Division of Protection.
“As with adults, virtually all the intense COVID-19 instances we’re seeing amongst adolescents are in unvaccinated 12- to 17-year-olds — an age group that lags behind in vaccination charges,” Biden stated. “So, mother and father, please get your teenager vaccinated.”
Some mother and father expressed consolation in sending their kids to colleges with COVID-19 security measures in place.
Whereas different mother and father discover in-person learning too dangerous proper now.
Elevated Testing and Masks Necessities
Biden made it clear that even with new vaccine mandates, masking and COVID-19 testing are nonetheless as vital as ever.
The president’s plan says that together with extra aggressive manufacturing of COVID-19 fast exams, take-home tests will value much less beginning on the finish of the week and the free COVID-19 testing program at pharmacies shall be expanded.
Biden stated masking requirements will nonetheless be in place at airports, in addition to on sure types of public transportation, corresponding to airplanes and buses.
However with the brand new plan, those that don’t observe the necessities will face double fines.
Regardless of the upper fines, some say that the journey mandates have been troublesome to implement.
Defending Our Financial Restoration
To forestall backtracking the nation’s economic progress, the president introduced an extension of the COVID-19 Financial Damage Catastrophe Mortgage packages.
This system will now permit small businesses to borrow as much as $2 million, up from the unique $500,000, to assist with cash troubles introduced on by the pandemic.
The loans are low-interest and require no repayments for two years.
Bettering Take care of These With COVID-19
The president additionally introduced that the Division of Protection will double the variety of military well being groups despatched to assist hospitals throughout the nation.
Biden stated new medicines shall be more and more out there, and they’re really useful by “actual medical doctors, not conspiracy theorists.”
“The monoclonal antibody therapies have been proven to cut back the chance of hospitalization by as much as 70% for unvaccinated folks prone to creating extreme ailments,” Biden stated. “Tonight, I’m asserting we are going to improve the typical tempo of cargo throughout the nation of free monoclonal antibody treatments by one other 50%.”
