President Biden has made it clear he wants to end the pandemic. However, almost one year into his presidency, the government is reaching the limits of its ability to bring the country’s war with COVID-19 to a close.
In the rare instances where it might go further, it appears to be unwilling to do so for the time being.
The Biden Administration’s Battles
Faced with rising cases, declining approval numbers, and the beginnings of a troubling new iteration, Biden made a plea with citizens to get immunized and pledged more initiatives to delay the virus’ spread on Thursday.
Biden then revealed what the White House is lauding as a comprehensive plan to prevent a winter revival of the virus. Nevertheless, the majority of the efforts the government proposes to take are either extensions or small additions of existing projects.
Several experts doubt they will have much of an impact on the pandemic’s present path.
Everyone freaking out about the Omicron variant when the doctor who discovered it is on camera saying it’s not a big deal sums up our COVID response from the beginning just perfectly.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) December 2, 2021
Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown College international health professor of law in contact with the White House, stated, “He’s confronting a hostile audience, hostile political rivals, and an unfriendly judiciary.”
On Thursday, Biden stated his administration would undertake efforts to increase access to immunizations and booster doses, tighten travel restrictions, and pave the way for free, at-home COVID-19 screening.
First, before Omicron was found early last month, the so-called wintertime COVID approach was in the pipeline, owing to an increase in Delta cases in the United States, as more people gathered indoors for the holidays.
Biden Needs to Step it up
David Axelrod, a former close aide to President Obama, stated, “He has to go out because Americans usually expect to hear from the government at moments like this.”
“He’s making do with what he’s got. Biden’s been attempting to use this as an opportunity to reinvigorate the need for immunizations. We’ll see what happens.”
Omicron is not a 'South African variant', it's a variant that was spotted & reported by brilliant South African scientists so fast the world has a chance to get on top of it. Could have originated anywhere.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 27, 2021
For his side, Biden urged the nation to unite in the fight against the current strain of COVID, which keeps killing scores of Americans every day.
“I think this is a time when we can put the division behind us,” the president said during an address at the National Institutes of Health yesterday. “It should bring us together, not divide us.”
However, despite the government’s pledge that Biden’s novel strategy “pulls no hard shots in the battle against COVID-19,” his government is deferring to more aggressive measures.
These measures entail vaccine regulations for international flights, more stringent public health limitations, and imposed exclusion zones.
Many of the president’s efforts to combat the pandemic have already been hindered by political disagreements. The White House is fighting in court to keep sweeping vaccination regulations for businesses and healthcare employees alive.
Biden aides have portrayed them as critical instruments for immunizing the vast majority of the country.
