Sept. 10, 2021 — President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday night time along with his new “Path Out of the Pandemic” plan, a six-point agenda to place the nation on the right track to defeat COVID-19, primarily via extra vaccine mandates, elevated testing, and masking necessities.
By way of the brand new plan, vaccination will likely be required for roughly two-thirds of the nation’s workforce, or 100 million employees.
At present, the USA is averaging 150,000 new circumstances and 1,500 deaths every day, CNN reported.
“If we elevate our vaccination fee, 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 mentioned in his speech.
There have been wide-ranging reactions to numerous 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 mentioned it’s essential that extra of the unvaccinated inhabitants get inoculated if we need to absolutely beat the virus.
To encourage this, he signed government orders for extra vaccine mandates.
Employers with greater than 100 staff should require both COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing for employees.
The brand new plan additionally requires vaccinations for federal employees and tens of millions of contractors of the federal authorities, in addition to vaccine mandates for over 17 million well being care employees at hospitals and clinics that take part in Medicare and Medicaid.
Some folks have mentioned they are going to probably resign from their jobs over the brand new vaccine mandates.
However others are attempting to remind people who weekly testing remains to be an choice 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 mentioned his administration will likely be prepared to supply COVID-19 booster photographs as early as Sept. 20, relying on the approval of the FDA and the CDC.
The president’s plan says that boosters will likely be free and obtainable at greater than 80,000 places throughout the nation, in locations like docs’ places of work, pharmacies, and different well being facilities.
“The choice of which booster photographs to present, when to start out them, and who will give them will likely be left utterly to the scientists on the FDA and the Facilities for Illness Management,” Biden mentioned. “However whereas we wait, we’ve carried out our half. We’ve purchased sufficient boosters — sufficient booster photographs — and the distribution system is able to administer them.”
Many expressed reduction 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 surroundings for college kids, lecturers, and employees.
Ninety % of the nation’s lecturers and employees members in faculties are vaccinated, Biden mentioned.
Proper now, vaccines have been authorized for kids ages 12 years and older.
“What about youngsters beneath the age of 12 who can’t get vaccinated but? Nicely, one of the best ways for a dad or mum to guard their youngster beneath the age of 12 begins at house. Each dad or mum, each teen sibling, each caregiver round them needs to be vaccinated,” Biden mentioned.
His plan would require vaccinations for lecturers and employees at Head Begin and Early Head Begin applications and Bureau of Indian Training-operated faculties, in addition to youngster and youth program personnel on the Division of Protection.
“As with adults, virtually all the intense COVID-19 circumstances we’re seeing amongst adolescents are in unvaccinated 12- to 17-year-olds — an age group that lags behind in vaccination charges,” Biden mentioned. “So, mother and father, please get your teenager vaccinated.”
Some mother and father expressed consolation in sending their youngsters to varsities 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 essential as ever.
The president’s plan says that together with extra aggressive manufacturing of COVID-19 fast exams, take-home tests will price much less beginning on the finish of the week and the free COVID-19 testing program at pharmacies will likely be expanded.
Biden mentioned masking requirements will nonetheless be in place at airports, in addition to on sure types of public transportation, reminiscent of airplanes and buses.
However with the brand new plan, those that don’t comply with 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 stop backtracking the nation’s economic progress, the president introduced an extension of the COVID-19 Financial Harm Catastrophe Mortgage applications.
This system will now enable 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 Look after 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 mentioned new medicines will likely be more and more obtainable, and they’re really useful by “actual docs, not conspiracy theorists.”
“The monoclonal antibody remedies have been proven to cut back the danger of hospitalization by as much as 70% for unvaccinated folks prone to growing extreme illnesses,” Biden mentioned. “Tonight, I’m asserting we are going to improve the common tempo of cargo throughout the nation of free monoclonal antibody treatments by one other 50%.”
