Ian Patrick, FISM News
Biden’s latest update on his administration’s fight against COVID-19 was imbued with anger and frustration at Americans who chose not to take any of the multiple COVID vaccines.
In the beginning of his speech, Biden lauded the “over 175 million Americans” who have been vaccinated since he took office and the significant drop in deaths from the deadly disease. He said that the week before he started as President “over 25,000 Americans died . . . from COVID-19,” and now that total has dropped 70% despite multiple variants emerging.
It did not take long for Biden to then direct his ire towards those Americans who have chosen not to take the vaccine, once again referring to the uptick in cases as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Biden says that the less than 25% of Americans who do not even have one dose of vaccine administered “can cause a lot of damage — and they are.” He blamed these Americans and certain politicians “actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19” for what he said is our nation’s inability in “turning the corner.”
We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing.
He then presented a six-step plan “to require more Americans to be vaccinated, to combat those blocking public health.” The first of these measures is a sweeping vaccination requirement or weekly negative tests in businesses with at least 100 employees. This will affect over 80 million employed Americans total, and Biden is directing the Department of Labor to allow paid time off for workers to get vaccinated.
He is also signing an executive order requiring all federal employees and federal contractors to be vaccinated, as well as expanding the healthcare vaccination mandate to include “hospitals, home healthcare facilities, or other medical facilities.”
His second step is guaranteeing booster shots for those who have already been vaccinated as soon as they become available. Biden assumes that the vast majority of those who have already been vaccinated are angry “at those who haven’t gotten vaccinated,” but does not question whether the anger results from the restrictions and mandates implemented by his government.
The third step focuses on schools and children. Biden urges those 12 and up to get the vaccine while also announcing that every staff member in the Head Start program must be vaccinated. He then asked for state governors to require the vaccine for their schools, and threatened to remove governors such as Ron DeSantis of Florida who have openly banned certain mandates from his state.
Right now, local school officials are trying to keep children safe in a pandemic while their governor picks a fight with them and even threatens their salaries or their jobs. Talk about bullying in schools. If they’ll not help — if these governors won’t help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my power as President to get them out of the way.
The fourth step in Biden’s plan involves him using “the Defense Production Act to increase production of rapid tests” and to make these at-home tests purchasable from outlets like Walmart and Amazon “at cost for the next three months.” He also plans to expand free rapid testing and spend $2 billion on 300 million rapid tests that anyone can get in their community. In addition to the tests, Biden is also doubling down on his masking mandate and even requiring the TSA to “double the fines on travelers that refuse to mask.”
Speaking of spending, Biden’s fifth step is a plan to further prop up businesses by “expanding COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.” He explains that he will be increasing the borrowing limit for businesses whose sales have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic from $500,000 to $2 million. The loans provided by the federal government will not have to begin to be repaid until 2 years from when they are borrowed.
The sixth and final step of Biden’s plan is to look after those infected with COVID-19. He announced that he will direct the Department of Defense to “double the number of military health teams” sent around the nation to help regions struggling with inpatients with COVID-19. He also announced that he will expedite the delivery “of free monoclonal antibody treatments by another 50 percent.”
He closes his speech by once again praising his administration’s effort in donating 140 million vaccines worldwide, and planning to give out another 500 million.