Since Joe Biden was elected as President on Jan. 20th, the people of the United States have been wondering what his plans are regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and getting the country back on track.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still being a current issue people all over the world are facing, the United States has suffered tremendously. For example, the pandemic has caused an economic crisis and has left 10 million Americans unemployed.
Joseph Patten, Ph.D. Associate Professor of the Political Science department, said that there is a major COVID relief bill being worked on right now, that would include a $1400 stimulus check to most families who are making under $150,000, to help students get back to school, and to get the economy up and running.
Patten said, “So, COVID is really the center of everything. Of course, including the healthcare fund, and also in terms of the economy getting people back to work.”
He explained how there are different areas of the pandemic that the Biden Administration needs to focus on. One of them being the healthcare in the U.S., and the hundreds and thousands of people who have died.
“There seems to be challenges there with the new administration. That of course is first and foremost,” said Patten.
Jennifer McGovern, Ph.D. Assistant Professor in the department of Political Science and Sociology, said it seems that Biden wants to have a more coordinated federal effort for decision making. Whereas, she said that former President Trump was content to leave much of the decision making up to the states.
“So, as you know we do have state’s rights and even within that Biden seems to actually want to use data to actually coordinate response among the states, or at least to advise the states on how they should respond,” said McGovern. “I didn’t seem to feel that Trump’s administration was doing that. They were kind of leaving it up to governors.”
Patricia Dempsey, Specialist Professor in the School of Nursing, also noticed that Biden has developed a centralized federal government response team.
“The Biden administration will support states and local governments with disease management guidance and financial support,” said Dempsey. “The Biden administration is working to increase public awareness and to decrease vaccine hesitancy. Most importantly, President Biden will work to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.”
McGovern highlights the fact that Biden signed an executive order which enabled a mask mandate on federal property. She also noted that this was something that was not mandated under former President Trump.
“I know Trump’s administration was big on getting the vaccine ready, which they obviously were successful at, but it seems that Biden is a bit more focused on the distribution. Which makes sense given the timing,” she said.
In regard to the Biden Administration’s plan on getting people vaccinated, the president’s plan is to administer 100 million shots in 100 days and to grow the access to vaccines to more Americans.
Dempsey said that the Biden Administration is purchasing and releasing millions of COVID-19 doses.
She said, “For example, this week’s weather event shuttered six mass vaccination sites in NJ for two days. The Biden administration is planning to increase immunization sites, enlist pharmacies to aid in vaccination administration, and to utilize mobile units. The mobile units will play a pivotal role in providing access to immunization in remote and rural areas.”
Dempsey also said that she is hopeful the nation will move forward together during this pandemic under the Biden Administration.
“The task before the Biden administration is great, as they are starting at square one. Rejoining the World Health Organization and restoring the National Security Council for Global Health Security are steps in the right direction,” she said.
IMAGE TAKEN from ScienceMag.org
