Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Biden launches sweeping COVID-19 changes on first full day in White House

Published 01/21/2021, 05:09 AM
Updated 01/21/2021, 02:36 PM
© Reuters. U.S. President Biden speaks after being sworn-in during his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington

© Reuters. U.S. President Biden speaks after being sworn-in during his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden moved swiftly on his first full day in the White House on Thursday to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, his top priority as he turns the page on four years of Donald Trump's tumultuous leadership.

The Biden administration is aiming at a coordinated federal coronavirus response to the 10-month pandemic, focused on boosting vaccines, increasing testing, reopening schools and addressing inequalities thrown up by the disease.

Trump, who frequently sought to play down the severity of the virus which has killed more than 405,000 Americans, left much of the pandemic planning to individual states, which has resulted in a patchwork of policies across the country.

"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 its strategy against the coronavirus.

The pandemic has killed and infected more people in the United States than anywhere in the world, and left millions out of work due to lockdowns.

The virus cast a shadow over Biden's inauguration on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Crowds, which often reach into the hundreds of thousands for the swearing-in of a president, were kept away for fear of spreading infections.

Biden will sign a series of executive orders related to the pandemic later on Thursday, including requiring mask-wearing in airports and on certain public transportation, including many trains, airplanes and intercity buses, officials said.

The administration will also expand vaccine manufacturing and its power to purchase more vaccines by "fully leveraging contract authorities, including the Defense Production Act," according to the plan.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the DPA would also be used to speed up delivery of protective gear.

The Trump administration had invoked the law, which grants the president broad authority to “expedite and expand the supply of resources from the U.S. industrial base,” for protective gear, but never enacted it for testing or vaccine production.

Biden will also direct the Federal Emergency Management Administration to reimburse states and tribes fully for the costs associated with National Guard-related efforts to combat the virus.

The measure restores "full reimbursement" from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for costs related to re-opening schools. FEMA funds are typically dispersed after hurricanes, floods or other natural disasters.

Biden was due to speak on his COVID-19 efforts at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT)

The new Democratic president has put fighting the disease at the top of a daunting list of challenges, including rebuilding a ravaged economy and addressing racial injustice. Other issues the administration plans to address over the next 10 days include healthcare, immigration and climate change.

Biden signed 15 executive actions on Wednesday hours after he was sworn into office, many aimed at sweeping away Trump's policies, including mandating masks on federal property, rejoining the Paris climate accord and ending a travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries.

TESTING, SUPPLY, TRAVEL PROTOCOLS

The 10 orders Biden will sign on Thursday will establish a COVID-19 testing board to ramp up testing, address supply shortfalls, establish protocols for international travelers and direct resources to hard-hit minority communities.

Biden has pledged to provide 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine during his first 100 days in office. His plan aims to increase vaccinations by opening up eligibility for more people such as teachers and grocery clerks.

He will also issue a directive including the intent to join the COVAX facility that aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries, Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, told the board of the World Health Organization on Thursday.

Trump had halted funding to the WHO and planned to withdraw from the group in July, which Biden reversed in an executive order on taking office.

Fauci told ABC News rejoining the WHO was a critical step in helping to fight the outbreak.

"It going to be really very important. When you're dealing with a global pandemic you have to have an international connectivity," he said.

He said he was confident the United States could recharge its vaccine response even as some states and localities have said they are running out of available doses.

Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 package that would enhance jobless benefits and provide direct cash payments to households to alleviate the financial pain from coronavirus.

The House is planning to bring a coronavirus relief bill to a vote the first week of February, Pelosi said on Thursday.

Late on Wednesday, the Department of Education moved to extend the pause of student loan payments and said it would keep the interest rate at 0% to help ease financial burdens amid the pandemic.

Some of Biden's early initiatives could get bogged down in Congress, where the Senate is considering how to proceed with the impeachment trial of Trump. The House impeached Trump last week for inciting an insurrection in a deadly assault on the Capitol. Democrats now have a narrow majority in both houses.

Pelosi has yet to send the article of impeachment to the Senate. A source familiar with the planning said it could happen as early as Friday.

Under Senate rules, the trial would start a day after the House delivered the charge. It was unclear, however, whether a delay might be engineered, as some Democrats have hinted, in order to keep Biden's agenda and Cabinet appointments on track.

© Reuters. U.S. President Biden participates remotely in a virtual Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service from the White House in Washington

Latest comments

President Trump cured the flu... cases world wode are down over 92%... are we really that ignorant? Magically covid 19 will become the common cold
Those numbers for covid greatly enhanced for financial gain and Printing money having Fed monetise debt is Trump 2.0 and will have only temp relief. Wow here we go again! Nobody is trying to fix the Dollar problem
they can right whatever they please these days and it doesnt matter how much it is disconnected from reality... colossal amount of fake facts in this article and the blatant globalist agenda in play there aswell. RIP USA
Very rich double speak and empty rhetoric, as they a target a nation of Donald Trump supporters as "terrorists": "We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this - if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts," Biden said on the steps of the Capitol, where a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the building on Jan 6.
Let's just say, you want to end opposition to your fake installation as "president", when we all saw the fraud.  Won't happen, "unity" under threat and deceit  is not unity..it is tyranny.
 "when we all saw the fraud."  -- OK I will ****....tell us, what fraud did you see?  not the one you read about on the internet, what did you actually see?  and did you report it to the police?
The new Ed Koch
Nancy has launched impeachment 2.0.Joe has issued 17 executive orders undoing the Trump legacy...BLM and antifa continue their maraudig in the Northwest.
This is Biden's "unity".  Just beginning
"BLM and antifa continue their maraudig in the Northwest...."  -- hmmm, so you are saying that has been going on for a while?  so instead of blaming the new president in his second day of office, maybe  the president before Biden should have done something about it???
so, governers come on business show and say, "states know how to more efficiently distribute the vaccine ", then Pres Joe says, federal government can do a better job than the states... so who is correct?
The vaccines r emergency approval. It means that we still dont know the side effects 100%. Biden is making people lab rats.
is he? he is forcing anybody to take the vaccine.....
will you look at that - some real governance and application of our existing infrastructure. good for us - now business can focus on business.
"some real governance and application of our existing infrastructure."  --- yeah, you would think that's the minimum we can expect from our president, but then again, the bar has been lowered so much in the last 4 years, just to have a president who actually gives a ****is now something to celebrate
  let me guess, you didn't make your high school's debating team did you?
Bideb cant launch his brain let alone covid defense.
the sleepy grandpa still managed to get 7 million votes more than the orange guy, and that was before he left his basement
Not sure why there are so many investors who are Biden supporters. They have to know socialist policies are horribly destructive to free market economics right?? Is nobody worried about him trying to take almost 50% of their earnings? Makes zero sense.
"Not sure why there are so many investors who are Biden supporters."  -- maybe they have a better memory than you and remember when Obama and Clinton were presidents the stock markets tripled..............."Makes zero sense"  --- well that says more about you than the professional investors doesn't it?
 I think you are correct. Possibly Chinese
first off Clinton in the 90s wasn't nearly as socialist as Biden's supposed platform. Look at the tax bill of '97, lowered capital gains from 28 to 20%. That's when the economy took a nice turn. It remained there under Obama. Known fact thaf increased capital gains tax reduces productivity, wages, and investment incentive. Good try though buddy, move along. Question still stands.
We can do this! Just open your pocketbooks and start giving to our new government.
Biden is sick. everyone knows it
Some people can’t or won’t recognize dementia.
100 bucks Biden didn't even wake up yet
I like your odds.
so you are saying Biden got more than 7m votes than the orange guy even when he was sleeping?  wow, imagine what he can do when he actually does wake up
This dude is a dreamer! Tackle corona in a day by signing things... don't think the virus pays attention to ink. That vaccine, which they said could never be done by year end 2020, is purely thanks to the Trump admin. Biden has done nothing but ***** off half the country but undoing years of work they agreed with on his first day... unity lol
there is already a vaccine being distributed. oh and by the way-- riots in Portland. I'm guessing not Trump supporters
Now we know biden can read. Good for him
 That would be Kamala
  ...this was a three points one!...
...stop gnawing your nails guys, or you will end up as the Milo's Venus.....
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.