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Joe Biden is planning to sign another set of executive actions on Thursday, his first full day in the White House, aimed at making good on his plans to utilize the might of the federal government to end the coronavirus pandemic.
His administration plans a coordinated federal coronavirus response aimed at restoring trust in the government and focused on boosting vaccines, increasing testing, reopening schools and addressing inequalities thrown up by the disease.
“We can and will beat Covid-19. America deserves a response to the Covid-19 pandemic that is driven by science, data and public health – not politics,” the White House said in a statement outlining the administration’s national strategy on Covid-19 response and pandemic preparedness.
The administration’s new strategy is based around seven major goals: restoring public trust in government efforts, getting more vaccine doses into more arms, mitigating the spread – including mask mandates – emergency economic relief, a strategy to get schools and workers functioning again, establishing an equity task force to address disparities in suffering involving issues of race, ethnicity and geography, and preparing for future threats.
Biden has pledged to vaccinate 100 million people in 100 days and reverse the impact of a year of mismanaged response under Donald Trump that saw more than 400,000 people die and more than 24 million infected – by far the worst rates in the world.
More than 4,200 people died of coronavirus in the US on Wednesday, the second highest daily total of an outbreak that had its first confirmed case exactly a year ago.
But his executive orders are set to go far beyond just boosting vaccination efforts.
The US president plans to re-engage with the World Health Organization, a reversal from the Trump administration’s move to cut ties during the pandemic and the new president is also starting a White House Covid-19 response team.
Anthony Fauci, the key public health official dealing with the pandemic for the Trump administration and now for Biden’s, made a speech to the World Health Organization pre-dawn on Thursday after being chosen to head the US delegation to the global health group in one of the first acts of the Biden presidency.
Fauci said letters had been delivered to the group to formally retract the process of US withdrawal from the WHO that Trump had announced last May after declaring it was too “China-centric” and disproportionately funded by the US to no benefit.
“I am honored to announce the US will remain a member of the WHO. The US also intends to fulfill its financial obligations to the organization,” Fauci said.
In a TV interview on Thursday morning, Fauci said “it was really a very good day” as the US recommitted to the WHO, disengagement from which, he said, other countries and health officials in the US alike had found “very disconcerting”.
He said he was “fairly confident” that the US could reach its 100-day vaccinations goal.
The Biden administration plans to partner with states and local governments to set up community vaccination centers at stadiums, gymnasiums and conference centers.
The administration will staff these sites with personnel from federal agencies as well as first responders and medical personnel serving in the military. The government also plans to partner with federally qualified health centers to help reach undeserved communities to distribute vaccines and mobile clinics will also be set up.
In order to further distribute vaccine doses, the Biden administration plans to discontinue the Trump administration’s policy of “holding back significant levels of doses”. More states will also be urged by the Biden administration to encourage vaccinations.
Biden plans to issue an executive order setting up a Covid-19 pandemic testing board. The idea is for the board to offer a “clear, unified approach to testing”, according to Biden administration officials.
Biden will sign another executive order to make testing for the virus free for Americans who don’t have health coverage and offer ways some of the most vulnerable Americans can get help.
On traveling, Biden will sign an executive order requiring people to wear a mask on trains, airplanes and maritime vessels. Another executive order Biden plans to sign will require the departments of education and health and human services to give guidance on safely reopening schools.
Biden also will release a presidential memorandum utilizing the Fema disaster relief fund for providing reimbursement for personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning and costs needed to safely reopen schools.
The Biden administration is also looking to fix supply shortfalls. Biden plans to direct federal agencies to fulfil supply shortfalls using the Defense Production Act.
The Trump administration refrained from fully coordinating with the Biden transition team over the last few months.
Biden will restore a White House team on global health risks set up under Barack Obama and dismantled under Donald Trump.
The executive orders aim to help people of color in particular. One will set up the Covid-19 health equity taskforce.
Biden will issue an order to develop a national strategy to reopen schools, hoping to meet his goal of having most elementary and middle schools open within his first 100 days in office and will ask Congress to provide $130bn additional aid to schools, $35bn for colleges and universities, $25bn for child care centers at risk of closing and $15bn in child care aid for struggling families.
