Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'We're Gonna Get Through This': Biden To Give First Prime-Time Address
ABC News: Biden's 1st Primetime Speech To Reflect On 1 Year Since Pandemic Shutdowns, Challenges Ahead
For the third time this year, President Joe Biden will mark a landmark moment in the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering his first primetime address Thursday night to recognize one year since widespread shutdowns began across the United States and to ask Americans to help with "what comes next." "I'm gonna launch the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people," Biden said on Wednesday, previewing his remarks. "There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of the past year. But we cannot let our guard down now or assume the victory is inevitable. Together, we're gonna get through this pandemic and usher in a healthier and more hopeful future." (Gomez, 3/11)
The Washington Post: First Address In Office For Biden Marks Anniversary Of Coronavirus Pandemic
President Biden, in his first prime-time address since taking office, is planning on Thursday night to speak to a nation still reeling from the deadly coronavirus pandemic, offering a look back on the devastating year as well as previewing what he will characterize as a coming return to some sense of normalcy, according to White House officials. Biden views the speech as a key marker to reflect on his first 50 days in office, one that comes almost exactly a year after the nation began to shut down as a result of the pandemic and at an inflection point in his own presidency, officials said. It was last March 11 that then-President Donald Trump gave his own widely criticized Oval Office address, suspending travel from Europe while also telling Americans of the virus: “The risk is very, very low.” (Viser and Parker, 3/10)
CNN: Biden Seeks To Chart A Path Out Of The Pandemic In Prime-Time Address
President Joe Biden can report in his first prime-time address Thursday that a vaccination drive now reaching 2 million people daily has brought America far closer to exiting the pandemic than when he took office 50 days ago. With new infections and deaths way down from their peaks of a horrific winter, Biden can afford to conjure hope that better days may be imminent and will speak to the nation from a position of political strength. He is also armed with a newly passed $1.9 trillion Covid-19 rescue package -- his first major legacy achievement -- which represents an ambitious attempt to rebuild the US economy to favor the less well off. (Collinson, 3/11)
CNBC: Biden Says He Will Announce The ‘Next Phase’ Of The U.S. Covid Response Thursday
President Joe Biden said he will announce the “next phase” of the U.S. Covid-19 response during his prime-time address to Americans on Thursday. “Tomorrow night, I’m going on prime time to address the American people and talk about what we went through as a nation this past year. But more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next,” Biden said Wednesday from the White House after a meeting with executives from Johnson & Johnson and Merck. (Lovelace Jr., 3/10)
AP: Biden’s Speech Goals: Mourn Loss, Urge Caution, Offer Hope
Marking a year of loss and disruption, President Joe Biden will use his first prime-time address since taking office to steer the nation toward a hungered-for sentiment — hope — in the “next phase” of the fight against the pandemic that has killed more than 529,000 Americans. Previewing his remarks, Biden said he would “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next.” (Miller, 3/11)
