This week the United States reached a devastating toll of 400,000 deaths from coronavirus. As the virus continues to spread across the country, states have begun to appeal for more vaccine doses. For some states like Georgia, staffing and infrastructure are not an issue but the lack of doses is. San Francisco and New York City are set to burn through their supply by this Thursday, forcing states to apply pressure and demand more doses before vaccine appointments are canceled.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of 35.9 million doses distributed only 16.5 million doses have been administered, and of that total only 2.1 million people have received both doses of the vaccine. Public health experts have critiqued the immunization efforts as, “glacially slow and haphazard.” In efforts to treat the more immunocompromised, some states like California have begun to allow individuals of the age 65 or older to receive the vaccine.
As the U.S. mourns the loss of 400,000 Americans and scrambles to roll out more vaccine doses, the nation also welcomes a new president to the White House. Former President Trump received heavy criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, so just hours after being inaugurated, President Joe Biden has plans to get the virus under control in the United States.
Some of Biden’s first initiatives to get underway are a mask mandate that requires the wearing of masks and social distancing for federal employees in federal spaces, as well as rejoining the World Health Organization. In addition, Biden has high hopes of getting 100 million Americans within his first 100 days of presidency.
While the United State’s new president holds high ambitions of controlling the pandemic, it is important to remember that these situations are often uncertain and we must have patience as experts and officials work to get things under wraps. In the meantime, let us all do our parts to stay masked up, remain at home as much as possible, and do not lose faith in new and continued efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.