The New Plan Is “Comprehensive, Forward Looking, Well Crafted”
Today, the Biden administration released its new National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, which details the next steps in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan protects our health by using life saving tools we didn’t have at the beginning of the pandemic, including vaccines, treatments, and rapid testing. It also announces a new “Test to Treat” initiative, where people can get tested at a pharmacy and in the event of a positive test, receive treatment pills on the spot. The National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan also acknowledges the possibility of future variants by creating new stockpiles of PPE, masks, tests, and treatment pills, and faster approvals so new vaccines can begin delivery in 100 days. It reaffirms President Biden’s commitment to keeping schools open, preventing future shutdowns, and continuing to be an arsenal for vaccines for the world.
Below is a roundup of headlines and reactions to the plan.
The Washington Post: Biden Declares Pandemic Reset, Saying Covid ‘Need No Longer Control Our Lives.’ “Biden’s cautiously optimistic tone is part of a broader White House strategy to reset its covid response as the United States appears to be easing out of the crisis amid the president’s tanking approval ratings and Democratic anxiety that nosediving cases and school reopenings have not buoyed a dyspeptic public… Biden also acknowledged the enormous toll covid has exacted on Americans: nearly 1 million deaths, interrupted learning for tens of millions of schoolchildren, missed family gatherings, isolation and myriad other hardships.” [The Washington Post, 3/1/22]
NBC News: Biden Says Americans Can ‘Remove Their Masks,’ Resume Pre-Covid Work, Life Routines. “President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night that the world had ‘reached a new moment’ in the coronavirus pandemic and called on Americans to begin resuming their pre-Covid work and lifestyle routines. ‘Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines,’ Biden said.” [NBC News, 3/1/22]
CNBC: People Who Test Positive For Covid Can Receive Antiviral Pills At Pharmacies For Free, Biden Says. “‘We’re launching the ‘Test to Treat’ initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they’re positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost,’ Biden said during his State of the Union speech Tuesday. The president said Pfizer is working to deliver 1 million courses of its Covid treatment pill, Paxlovid, this month. Paxlovid was 89% effective at preventing hospitalization among people who were at risk of developing severe illness during clinical trials.” [CNBC, 3/1/22]
The New York Times: Biden Announces Initiative To Pair Coronavirus Tests With Treatment. “President Biden, looking to usher the nation out of the coronavirus crisis into what some are calling a ‘new normal,’ used his State of the Union address Tuesday night to sketch out the next phase of his pandemic response, including a new ‘test to treat’ initiative aimed at providing patients with new antiviral medications as soon as they learn they are infected… The idea behind the strategy is to get the nation out of crisis mode and to a place, Mr. Biden has said, where the virus will no longer disrupt everyday life, and Americans will learn to live with it.” [The New York Times, 3/1/22]
USA Today: Biden Administration Unveils COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, Includes A ‘Test To Treat’ Initiative. “With his “test to treat” initiative, Biden plans to dramatically increase supply, particularly of an antiviral made by Pfizer, which has been shown to prevent nearly 90% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in people at high risk for disease… Biden’s plan also dramatically shortens the process of receiving a prescription for these medications, by allowing pharmacies and community health centers that provide COVID-19 testing to also prescribe the antivirals and monoclonal antibodies.” [USA Today, 3/2/22]
NPR: The White House Has A New Plan For Covid-19 Aimed At Getting Things Back To Normal. “The newest feature of the plan is a goal to offer a one-stop ‘test to treat’ system at pharmacies and community health centers starting in March — places where people can confirm whether they have COVID, and get treated with antivirals on the spot… The White House says it will prioritize protections for people who are immunocompromised as well as those with disabilities and older adults, giving them priority access to treatments and pushing to make sure they get boosters.” [NPR, 3/2/22]
Politico: Biden Wants To Move US Past Covid. Here’s His Plan To Do It. “The 96-page strategy — dubbed the National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan — argues that the U.S. has made ‘strong progress’ in combating the virus and now possesses the array of vaccines and treatments needed to blunt the worst of its effects. Yet it also lays out plans for further building out the government’s pandemic defense, urging Congress to provide the additional funding needed to ensure billions of Covid vaccines and therapeutics are widely available and to stand up a testing apparatus capable of quickly identifying and treating those who are infected.” [Politico, 3/2/22]
AP: Biden Outlines COVID Plans, Says It’s Time To Return To Work. “Biden said that starting next week, the administration would make available four more free tests to U.S. households through COVIDTests.gov, which has sent more than 270 million free tests to nearly 70 million households since it launched in mid-January… Earlier Tuesday, Biden extended the federal government’s 100% reimbursement of COVID-19 emergency response costs to states, tribes and territories through July 1, the White House announced Tuesday.” [AP, 3/2/22]
The Washington Post: White House Unveils New Plan To Move America Past Covid Crisis, Says Shutdowns, School Closures No Longer Necessary. “The plan comes after President Biden sought to reassure Americans in his State of the Union address that the wide availability of vaccines, booster shots, testing and new therapeutics had made the pandemic more manageable, while taking pains to avoid last summer’s premature victory lap just before the delta variant’s deadly stampede… Biden and his administration said they are ‘clear-eyed that new variants might arise,’ but that they have prepared for such a scenario by amassing vaccine doses, antivirals, masks and tests.” [The Washington Post, 3/1/22]
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