Biden To Outline Covid Action Plan While Adjusting To Variants, Vaccines
Vaccination campaigns, renewed commitments to masks and physical distancing and increased funding for pandemic response efforts form the backbone of the plan President-elect Joe Biden will detail Thursday.
AP:
Vaccines And Masks: Biden Plan Aims To Break Pandemic Cycle
A coronavirus action plan being unveiled by President-elect Joe Biden centers on a mass vaccination campaign and closer coordination among all levels of government. The Biden plan comes as a divided nation remains caught in the grip of the pandemic’s most dangerous wave yet. So far, more than 380,000 Americans have died. Biden hopes his multidimensional strategy, expected to be detailed in a Thursday evening speech, will put the country on the path to recovery by the end of his first 100 days. “It’s going to be hard,” Biden said Monday after he got his second vaccine shot. “It’s not going to be easy. But we can get it done.” (Alonso-Zaldivar and Barrow, 1/14)
Stat:
Biden Aides Retool Pandemic Plans In Light Of New Coronavirus Variants
President-elect Biden will address growing concerns about new, more transmissible coronavirus variants as he lays out his plans to speed up the sluggish U.S. vaccine rollout in a press conference this week, two of his top Covid-19 advisers confirmed to STAT. Biden was briefed on the variant that first appeared in the United Kingdom, known as B.1.1.7, soon after his Covid-19 advisory board convened an emergency meeting on Christmas Eve to discuss the new strains and the threat they posed. (Facher, 1/13)
Stat:
Biden Adviser Predicts Slow Start To ‘100 Million Vaccines In 100 Days’ Goal
President-elect Joe Biden is promising to administer 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in his first 100 days — but some of his top advisers are already warning that the early days of that effort are going to be rocky. The 100-day goal, which would require the Biden team to administer 1 million doses a day, each day, for his first 100 days, would represent a significant ramp-up from the pace set by the Trump administration, which has vaccinated roughly 10.2 million Americans over the course of 30 days. (Florko, 1/14)
In other news from the incoming Biden administration —
The Washington Post:
Biden To Include Expanded Child Tax Credit In Major New Stimulus Proposal
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to include a significant new benefit for children in poor and middle-class households in the coronavirus relief package he will release this week, according to three people speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details of internal deliberations. Biden officials are likely to include the expansion of an existing tax credit for children as part of a relief package that will also include $2,000 stimulus payments, unemployment benefits and other assistance for the ailing economy — as well as money to fight the coronavirus pandemic and increase vaccine distribution. Biden is expected to formally unveil his proposal Thursday. (Stein and Werner, 1/13)
The Hill:
Incoming White House Press Secretary Says Staff Will Wear N95 Masks
Press aides for the forthcoming Biden administration will wear N95 masks in the White House, the incoming press secretary said Wednesday, marking a shift from the lax approach of the Trump administration amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jen Psaki, who will serve as chief spokesperson for President-elect Joe Biden when he takes office next week, told CBS News correspondent Paula Reid that all of her staffers will be asked to wear the medical-grade masks around the complex, with limited exceptions for those sitting alone in their offices. (Samuels, 1/13)
More details emerge about Dr. Moncef Slaoui's involvement with the Biden team —
CNBC:
Operation Warp Speed Chief Resigned At Biden Team's Request: Sources
Operation Warp Speed chief advisor Dr. Moncef Slaoui has submitted his resignation at the request of the incoming Biden team under a plan that would see him stay in the role for a month to help with the transition, according to two people familiar with the situation. Slaoui’s role leading vaccine development for the unprecedented government effort is expected to be diminished after next Wednesday’s inauguration, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan wasn’t announced. It would end by Feb. 12. (Tirrell, 1/12)
The Hill:
Operation Warp Speed Chief Adviser Submits Resignation At Request Of Biden Transition
Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, on Wednesday, submitted his resignation as part of a plan to hand the vaccination effort over to President-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus team. Slaoui's resignation, which will go into effect next month, according to CNBC, comes as the president-elect has yet to name a new chief scientific adviser for the federal government's vaccine deployment program, which has so far seen just over 9 million Americans receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. (Bowden, 1/13)
