The incoming US President Joe Biden on Friday announced his plan to deal with the health crisis in the country, which included accelerating vaccine rollout, engaging mobile clinics, setting up a multitude of vaccine sites and the expansion of the public health workforce across the country, reported AFP.
Biden said his goal is to innoculate at least 100 million Americans during his first 100 days as the US President, which start on January 20 after the inauguration at the US Capitol.
He said, “Our plan is as clear as it is bold: Get more people vaccinated for free. Create more places for them to get vaccinated. Mobilize more medical teams to get the shots in people’s arms. Increase supply and get it out the door as soon as possible”, reported CNN.
The President-elect added, “This is going to be one of the most challenging operational efforts ever undertaken by our country. But you have my word: we will manage the hell out of this operation.”
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The announcement was made a day after Biden had declared his stimulus package worth $1.9 trillion to help recover the struggling economy of the US.
According to the official data, over 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed across the US with 11.1 million administered.
Biden plans to engage all available resources like the Federal Emergency Management Administration, National Guard of states and other federal government bodies to help US emerge from the pandemic.
Biden has also asked Congress to fund the expansion of the nation’s public health workforce to 100,000 personnel, nearly triple the current number.
Over 388,000 people have already succumbed to the deadly virus since the start of the pandemic with numbers rising every day.
Major differences have arisen in the rate at which states are administering their doses, and some states were criticized for being overly prescriptive in their initial rollout, which slowed things down and even led to some shots expiring, reported AFP.
The incoming Presidential administration has also decided to pay focus to minority communities affected by the pandemic and initiating an education campaign to build trust in the people of America regarding the safety of the vaccine. Moreover, the Defense Production Act will also be invoked to push supplies.
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A fact sheet that was released said, “President-elect Biden’s plan will release the vast majority of the vaccines when they are available, so more people can get vaccinated quickly, while still retaining a small reserve for any unforeseen shortages or delays.”
On Friday, incoming White House communications chief Jen Psaki tweeted that Bechara Choucai, chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, would run point on vaccine rollout efforts, reported AFP.
Former Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler will replace Moncef Slaoui as the head of the Biden equivalent of Operation Warp Speed, which will also see a name change.
