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A day after being sworn in, President Joe Biden is rolling out a national strategy to fight COVID-19, reopen the nation’s schools and restart the U.S. economy. His plan calls for an expansion of coronavirus testing, accelerated vaccine distribution and new action to prepare for future biological threats. The plan is tied to a $1.9 trillion plan that Biden unveiled last week to combat the pandemic.
The administration’s new strategy is based around seven major goals:
RESTORING TRUST
— Establishes a federal COVID-19 response team to coordinate efforts across agencies and restores a White House team on global health risks that was established during the Obama administration.
— Calls for regular public briefings on COVID-19 to be led by scientific experts.
— The federal government will track data on virus cases, testing, vaccinations and hospital admissions and will make it available to the public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will start a public dashboard tracking cases at the county level.
VACCINES
— Increases the production and purchasing of vaccines, including through the Defense Production Act — it allows the president to direct the manufacturing of critical goods during wartime — and ensures availability of glass vials, syringes and other supplies.
— Accelerates vaccinations by ending a policy to hold back large amounts of vaccines while also giving states clearer projections on vaccine availability to help them plan their rollouts.
— Partners with states to create more vaccine centers at locations including stadiums, convention centers and pharmacies. ...
MITIGATE SPREAD
— In addition to Biden’s order asking Americans to wear masks for 100 days, he will issue a separate order to federal agencies to require masks on airplanes, trains and other public transportation. ...
EMERGENCY RELIEF
— Increases emergency funding to states and orders the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse states for certain costs tied to the pandemic, including supplies of protective equipment and for National Guard personnel supporting the pandemic response.
— Directs federal agencies to invoke the Defense Production Act to close shortages of syringes, N95 masks, gloves and other supplies needed for virus testing and vaccine administration. ...
SCHOOLS AND WORKERS
— Biden will issue an order to develop a national strategy to reopen schools, hoping to meet his goal of having most K-8 schools open within his first 100 days in office.
— Orders the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop guidelines to help schools reopen and to share best practices gleaned from schools across the nation.
— Calls on Congress to provide at least $130 billion in additional aid to schools and $35 billion for colleges and universities. Asks Congress to provide $25 billion to stabilize child care centers at risk of closing and $15 billion in child care aid for struggling families.
— Biden will issue an order calling on federal agencies to issue updated guidance on COVID-19 precautions for workers and to consider new federal emergency standards, including around mask-wearing, are needed.
— Steers virus relief funding to the hardest-hit businesses.
ADDRESSING DISPARITIES
— Establish an equity task force to address disparities in rates of infection, illness and death across lines of race, ethnicity and geography....
PREPARING FOR FUTURE THREATS
— The U.S. will rejoin the World Health Organization, reversing the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the global agency.
— Increases humanitarian aid and support other efforts to help fight COVID-19 around the world. ...
ALSO SEE: Washington Post -- Biden issuing pandemic plan that aims to expand access to testing and vaccines, reopen schools
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