![]() As painful as it would be to admit the truth, demonstrating clarity and honesty would be the best way to rebuild the nation’s trust. Opting to run in place is an option, but one that requires President Biden to publicly acknowledge the difficult facts. And based on known mortality figures, there would be an additional 100,000 to 200,000 American deaths, even with the pending availability of more effective treatments for infected patients. The United States theoretically could achieve herd immunity this way, but only through infection. The hard truth is that this path will leave approximately 50-60 million unvaccinated adults vulnerable to the disease. He should tell the public the truth: that the United States will never reach herd immunity through immunization, not with the partisanship, misinformation and vaccine hesitancy still plaguing our nation. If Biden intends to stay on this path, he owes the nation a long-overdue dose of reality. It is an example of the ambiguity that keeps our nation running in place. In his most recent public remarks, Biden said the Labor Department will begin enforcing these requirements “ soon.” But “soon” is not a deadline or a clear path out of the pandemic. More than a month has passed since Biden announced the requirement, yet there’s still no clear indication of a timeline, an implementation strategy, a monitoring method or confirmed penalties for noncompliance. The problem, here, is that Biden’s Covid-19 action plan is filled with politically measured half steps rather than bold strides, thus preventing us from making meaningful progress.Īs an example, look closely at the president’s vaccine mandate for businesses. The implication of this higher threshold is as clear as it is painful: America’s current vaccination efforts and policies will not end the pandemic. What’s most concerning about Delta is that its elevated transmissibility has raised the threshold for herd immunity-up from 70% of the U.S. This explains why our country’s infection rate has held steady (somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases per day) despite the nation’s rising immunization rate. The Delta variant, which accounts for 99% of new cases in the United States, is twice as contagious as the original strain and equally lethal, according to CDC data. Keep running in place, but tell Americans the truth Assuming the courts side with stiffer mandates and uphold them as enforceable (as has been the judicial trend so far), a strategy in which “ the overwhelming majority of people get vaccinated” is the only way the United States will reach national herd immunity by early 2022. It’s not too late to take aggressive action. Health experts expect to see unconditional vaccine approval for kids ages 12-17 by year’s end, followed by children ages 5-11 in 2022 (for whom emergency authorization plans were announced last week). Biden lockdown full#Running twice as fast would also mean introducing vaccine mandates to public schools within 60 days of the FDA and CDC’s full approvals. Why not extend the mandate to those businesses and, while we’re at it, to any person or organization receiving federal funds (e.g., beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and any federal grant)? But there are another 150,000 companies with 50 to 99 employees. Meaning, why stop at 100?Īt present, there are about 165,000 registered businesses with at least 100 workers. In this running-faster scenario, Biden would need to double the efforts outlined in his “ Path Out of the Pandemic” plan-a 5,000-word compendium of past and present government actions that include a nationwide vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees. Biden lockdown update#The federal government is working with drug makers in case an update to vaccine recommendations is needed, although Biden said additional measures are likely not necessary.Like the Red Queen said, “If you want to get somewhere else,” to the end of the pandemic, for example, “you must run at least twice as fast as (you already are)!” In the UK, where Omicron cases have been identified, masks are once again required in shops. Biden asked people to start wearing masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |