Biden: Every American can sign up for COVID-19 vaccines on or before May 1 and get shots by May 31
White House using federal stimulus money to deploy more vaccinators, tech support for state websites, expanded COVID-19 testing in schools and elsewhere to detect new cases and variants
Extra edition since there’s some news of note:
The White House released details of President Biden’s plan to lead the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he conveyed in a prime-time televised speech from the White House Thursday. The goal is to encourage Americans to work together to control COVID-19 so that by July 4, small group gatherings and some semblance of normality may be possible.
A senior administration official emphasized that the “better” Independence Day will be possible only if every American does their part. “This is not an automatic thing,” said the official.
In other words, President Biden wants people to wear masks, keep their distance and get vaccinated as soon as they can — even if they live in states where rules have been relaxed.
The core element of the plan is that the president will “direct” states to open up vaccinations to all adults no later than May 1 so that every adult can get a shot by the end of May. This is based on the rapid increase in vaccine supply that is predicted based on current manufacturing.
(The J&J vaccine is expected to start rolling out of US-based factories in another week or two. Pfizer and Moderna have increased their production this month, and two more vaccines are nearing the point when they could be submitted for FDA review.)
A few other highlights of the Biden plan:
More than three times more screening of viral samples to detect variant strains. The USA started its systematic surveillance testing last month. Previously, it was mostly up to individual counties and researchers.
To get vaccines closer to people who may not be able to go very far, the federal government will supply vaccines directly to 20,000 local pharmacies and nearly 1,000 community health centers that serve primarily underserved, hard-hit areas. Additional vaccine sites and mobile vaccination units operated by FEMA will also be deployed.
Another 4,000 federal troops will be deployed to assist the vaccination effort, and a wide range of healthcare professionals such as dentists, veterinarians, paramedics and medical students will be authorized to administer shots.
For the technology geeks among us, there are a couple of interesting pieces, too. The White House says the federal government will:
Launch a website so that people who are qualified can volunteer to participate in administering vaccinations.
Create a separate website and call center to direct people to vaccine locations.
Deploy tech teams to states that need help improving their own websites.
With public health still a highly partisan issue in the USA, reaction to these steps will be interesting. What do you think? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.