White House unveils new COVID-19 plan after Joe Biden’s SOTU speech

The White House on Wednesday unveiled a new COVID-19 plan that it said would no longer disrupt the daily lives of Americans.

The new National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan, which will require additional funding from the US Congress, focuses on spending on COVID-19 treatments, preparing for new variants of the coronavirus, keeping schools and businesses open, and taking efforts to vaccinate everyone in the nation and eventually, the world.

“This plan lays out the roadmap to help us fight Covid-19 in the future as we move America from crisis to a time when Covid-19 does not disrupt our daily lives and is something we prevent, protect against and treat,” read a summary of plan according to CNN, which saw a copy of the document.

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“We look to a future when Americans no longer fear lockdowns, shutdowns, and our kids not going to school. It’s a future when the country relies on the powerful layers of protection we have built and invests in the next generation of tools to stay ahead of this virus,” the plan further said.

Among the aforementioned dimensions of the plan is a new “test to treat” initiative that will provide those who test positive for COVID-19 anti-viral pills on spot, reported the Washington Post.

As per CNN, vaccination of children under the age of five is also in consideration under the new plan, but is contingent on whether the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorises vaccines for children below five years of age, and on whether the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccination for the age group.

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The provisions of the new plan were reportedly all approved by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, prior to his State of the Union address, wherein the 79-year-old assured Americans of a restriction-free future while also warning them about the threat of the emergence of new coronavirus variants.

“Thanks to the progress we have made this past year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives. We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. And because this is a virus that mutates and spreads, we will stay on guard,” Biden had said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the disease has taken more than 1 million American lives in addition to adversely affecting almost all facets of life.