Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Stands By White House Covid Response, Says Pandemic 'Will Get Better'
CBS News: Biden Takes Defiant Tone In Press Conference Marking First Year In Office And Says He Didn't Overpromise
President Biden was adamant he hadn't "overpromised" in his first year in office as he held his first press conference of 2022 on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that one of his signature pieces of legislation, Build Back Better, must be downsized in order to get parts of it through Congress. "It's pretty clear to me that we will need to break it up," Mr. Biden said. (Linton, Brewster and Watson, 1/19)
Stat: A Defiant Biden Defends The CDC Amid Mounting Criticism
President Biden on Wednesday defended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amid mounting criticism of the agency’s repeated struggles to communicate basic public health guidance. But instead of conceding that the agency is fundamentally flawed, or that his top health officials have underperformed, Biden attributed the communications issues to the ever-changing nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, and of science itself. “The messages, to the extent they’ve been confusing — it’s because the scientists, they’re learning more,” Biden said during a nearly two-hour press conference. (Facher, 1/19)
Politico: Biden Defends School Policies, Downplays Recent Shutdowns
President Joe Biden touted his administration’s efforts to keep schools open during the pandemic on Wednesday as some schools are returning to remote instruction because of the Omicron variant. Biden said that while some school buildings have temporarily shut down, the vast majority have continued to conduct in-person instruction. He credited billions in funding passed as part of last year’s American Rescue Plan, as well as his administration’s vaccination initiatives, for helping students and educators stay in school and minimize learning disruption. (Niedzwiadek, 1/19)
USA Today: Biden Says US Moving To Time When Virus Won't Disrupt
President Joe Biden highlighted the progress his administration has made in the fight against COVID-19 and assured Americans the pandemic would come under control as it approaches two full years of upending daily life. At a lengthy White House news conference Wednesday, a day before the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, Biden recognized the public’s frustration and high level of pandemic fatigue and assured that, “It will get better.’’ But he didn't say when. “We’re moving toward a time when COVID-19 won’t disrupt our daily life, when COVID-19 won’t be a crisis, but something to protect against and a threat,’’ Biden said. “Look, we’re not there yet, but we will get there.’’ (Ortiz, Bacon and Tebor, 1/19)
AP: AP FACT CHECK: Biden Puffs Up Claims Of Virus, Job Gains
In a self-appraisal that didn’t always fit with the facts, President Joe Biden on Wednesday made the dubious assertion that he’s outperformed all expectations on the pandemic in his first year and inflated his contribution to COVID-era economic growth. A look at some of Biden’s comments in a news conference that stretched for nearly two hours. (Seitz and Rugaber, 1/20)
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Axios: Biden Concedes U.S. Should Have Done More Testing
President Biden acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. should have done more COVID-19 testing earlier on during his first year in office. The administration has faced criticism for the timing of the free tests that it distributed. A widespread shortage impacted millions across the country during the holidays as Omicron cases surged. "Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes," he said during a news briefing from the White House. "But we're doing more now," he added. "We've gone from zero at-home tests a year ago to 375 million tests on the market in just this month." (Chen, 1/19)
Stat: Can Mailing Free Covid-19 Tests Turn Biden’s Pandemic Response Around?
In an effort to regain the trust of the American public when it comes to his pandemic response, President Biden is launching a massive, slapdash effort to distribute Covid-19 tests by mail. Given the complicated distribution logistics, supply chain questions, and uncertainty about where the pandemic will go next, however, there are real questions about whether the push will succeed — or backfire for Biden. Biden’s overall approval rating has been underwater since last summer, but polls still showed that most Americans supported his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic — until last week. (Cohrs, 1/19)
