Biden's 'wartime' Covid-19 response strategy 2
New US President Joe Biden on January 21 signed a series of executive orders and directives to strengthen the federal response to the worst public health crisis in a century, part of the strategy
Biden signed an executive order to examine regional supply shortages of vaccines and personal protective equipment, identifying where the government needs to activate the Defense Production Act to increase production.
According to Biden’s team, they have identified 12 immediate supply shortages for pandemic response, including N95 surgical masks and gowns.
US President Joe Biden signed a series of executive orders to strengthen the federal response to Covid-19 at the White House on January 21.
Another executive order established the Pandemic Testing Board to promote testing.
`This effort will ensure that we can get testing to where it is most needed and needed, help schools and businesses reopen safely, and protect the most vulnerable
The new president also pledged to use his power to influence the wearing of masks wherever he is allowed, including federal buildings and interstate transportation routes.
International travelers must present negative Covid-19 test results before arriving in the US and comply with quarantine regulations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as soon as they arrive in the US.
Another Biden order requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the White House Covid-19 coordinator to reassess the federal government’s data collection system and issue a report.
The Trump administration last year had difficulty handling a centralized system, due to competing programs between the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC.
Another Biden executive order is to establish a `health equity task force` on Covid-19, to propose ways to provide more support to segments of the population severely affected by the epidemic, analyzing the needs
Biden said the task force will address vaccine hesitancy among people.
The new US president also signed an executive order to protect workers’ health during the pandemic, requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue new guidance for employers.
He also directed the Department of Education and Health and Human Services to issue new guidance on how to safely reopen schools, an issue that became a major source of controversy over the summer when White House and Department of Health officials
The Biden administration also wants to find more treatments for Covid-19 and future pandemics.
The emphasis on randomized trials comes after two emergency approvals for convalescent plasma and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which troubled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015.
Federal health officials, including FDA scientists, remain upset about the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services, under pressure from the Trump administration, to authorize these treatments.
Anh Ngoc (According to NY Times)
