Joseph R. Biden - National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness

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ISBN: 978-1-5107-6760-7

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My fellow Americans,

As I swore an oath to God and country to serve as your president, I offered a prayer for the 400,000 Americans and counting who have lost their lives this past year from the once-in-a-century pandemic in our midst. They were mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and colleagues who leave behind grieving loved ones and a nation on edge.

For the past year, we could not turn to the federal government for a national plan to answer prayers with action until today. In the following pages, you will find my Administrations national strategy to beat the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a comprehensive plan that starts with restoring public trust and mounting an aggressive, safe, and effective vaccination campaign. It continues with the steps we know that stop the spread liked expanded masking, testing, and social distancing. Its a plan where the federal government works with states, cities, Tribal communities, and private industry to increase supply and administer testing and the vaccines that will help reopen schools and businesses safely. Equity will also be central to our strategy so that the communities and people being disproportionately infected and killed by the pandemic receive the care they need and deserve.

Our national strategy will be driven by scientists and public health experts who will regularly speak directly to you, free from political interference as they make decisions strictly on science and public health alone.

Above all, Vice President Harris and I, and our entire Administration, will always be honest and transparent with you about both the good news and the bad. The honest truth is we are still in a dark winter of this pandemic. It will get worse before it gets better. Progress will take time to measure as people getting infected today dont show up in case counts for weeks, and those who perish from the disease die weeks after exposure. Even as we make progress, we will face setbacks. But I know we can do it, and that a true national strategy will take all of us working together. It will take Congress providing the necessary funding. Families and neighbors will need to continue looking out for one another. We will need health care providers, businesses, civic, religious and civil rights organizations, and unions all rallying together in common purpose and with urgency, purpose, and resolve. We will need to reassert Americas leadership in the world in the fight against this and future public health threats.

There are moments in history when more is asked of us as Americans. We are in that moment now and history will measure whether we were up to a task. Beating this pandemic will be one of the most difficult operational challenges we have ever faced as a nation. I believe we are ready, as fellow Americans and as the United States of America.

May God bless the lost souls of this pandemic, and all of you on the frontlines who define the best of who we are as Americans.

Sincerely,

President Joe Biden

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. Through the release of the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, the United States is initiating a coordinated pandemic response that not only improves the effectiveness of our fight against COVID-19, but also helps restore trust, accountability and a sense of common purpose in our response to the pandemic.

On January 9, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that there were 59 cases of coronavirus-related pneumonia. Just one year later, the United States has experienced over 24 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 400,000 COVID-19 deaths. America has just 4% of the worlds population, but 25% of the worlds COVID-19 cases and 20% of all COVID-19 deaths. And our nation continues to experience the darkest days of the pandemic, with record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Over 77,000 Americans lost their lives to COVID-19 in December, and across our nation businesses are closing, hospitals are full, and families are saying goodbye to their loved ones remotely.

The National Strategy provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century. It outlines an actionable plan across the federal government to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including twelve initial executive actions issued by President Biden on his first two days in office:

Restore trust with the American people.

Mount a safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.

Mitigate spread through expanding masking, testing, data, treatments, health care workforce, and clear public health standards.

Immediately expand emergency relief and exercise the Defense Production Act.

Safely reopen schools, businesses, and travel while protecting workers.

Protect those most at risk and advance equity, including across racial, ethnic and rural/urban lines.

Restore U.S. leadership globally and build better preparedness for future threats.

To execute on the National Strategy, the White House will establish a COVID-19 Response Office responsible for coordinating the pandemic response across all federal departments and agencies. Through implementation of the National Strategy, the United States will make immediate progress on the seven goals. To monitor outcomes, the National Strategy includes the creation of publicly accessible performance dashboards, establishing a data-driven, evidence-based approach to evaluating Americas progress in the fight against COVID-19.