Biden looks to galvanize COVID-19 fight, vaccinations as he takes office

President Joe Biden attempted to jump-start the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, signing a string of executive orders intended to lead a country reeling from its worst public health crisis in more than a century.

Biden takes office a day after the United States marked a total of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began spreading widely last March. Vaccination programs have lagged far behind the target of 20 million Americans inoculated by the end of 2020.

“We’re entering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus and must set aside politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation,” Biden, a 78-year-old Democrat, said in his inauguration speech.

The United States has reported nearly 200,000 new COVID-19 infections and 3,000 deaths per day on a seven-day rolling average, according to Reuters data. More than 123,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

Although the U.S. government has sent roughly 36 million doses of two approved vaccines to states so far, only 16.5 million have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most of those shots have gone to healthcare workers and nursing home residents, with Americans deemed “non-essential workers” by the government told they would likely wait months for their turn.

The actions Biden signed on Wednesday included a mask mandate on federal property and for federal employees, an order to establish a new White House office coordinating the response to the virus and halting the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization, aides said.

The Biden administration also intends to join the COVAX alliance, an initiative led by the World Health Organization and two other groups that seeks to secure greater access to COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the re-engagement of the United States with WHO, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding it was “absolutely critical” for a better coordinated global response against COVID-19.

“With vaccines being a critical tool in the battle against COVID-19, the United States joining and supporting the COVAX facility will give momentum to efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines for all countries,” Dujarric said. – Reuters