Despite the relief of a relatively calm election week, not all is well again in the US. Daily case counts of COVID19 have skyrocketed, reaching over 130 thousand new cases a day. This bodes ill for populations most at risk of having severe complications from the disease. The question is -- What is US national leadership going to do about it? What will happen between over the next two months is unclear, but under the guidance of a scientific advisor committee, President elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris have devised a plan to deal with COVID19. While much of what’s included in this plan is what one would expect to see in a well devised outbreak response, there are a few unique points to highlight.
First, the plan promises improved efforts of clear communication with the public on COVID19 status and safety. Specifically, “evidence-based guidance on how communities should navigate the pandemic” will be provided. Communication of scientific health research is critical especially as we approach a point where a vaccine will likely be available in the near future and people will need guidance on when and how to be vaccinated. Secondly, the Biden-Harris proposal includes a $25 billion investment in developing a plan to effectively manufacture and distribute a vaccine to all Americans free of cost. Successful vaccine distribution will make or break a public health effort, so the fact that there is emphasis being put on this is good news. But vaccinating all of America at once is a daunting task, and as I wrote about in a previous blog post, unequal worldwide distribution of vaccines favoring wealthy nations is imminent. For this reason, organization of vaccine distribution ought also to be managed by the WHO. A final point of interest is that the plan proposes to create a COVID19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force to provide oversight on disparities in public health and the economic response to COVID19. As the pandemic draws on, it’s becoming clear that the greatest disease burden of this outbreak is among racial minorities who are often essential workers and who are more likely to live in neighborhoods with underfunded hospitals. The Biden-Harris proposal promises that this task force will transition to the permanent Infectious Disease Racial Disparities Task Force once this pandemic is in check.
Although the Biden-Harris COVID19 response plan is strategic and will have an impact on the pandemic, there are still two months before Biden takes office. For a rapidly spreading virus, two months is time enough to leave lasting damage. While American leadership still has its priorities somewhere other than minimizing the lives lost to this pandemic, it’s up to individuals to protect themselves as best they can.
You can read the full Biden-Harris COVID19 response plan here: https://buildbackbetter.com/priorities/covid-19/
- Renata
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