News

Republicans retreat from the brink of Covid – for now

Biden’s vote to block the use of federal money to enforce vaccine requirements narrowly failed, 48-50, but brute force could plunge the government into chaos. Friday before the midnight funding deadline is another example of the power of a few that often seem to threaten the will of many during this never-ending pandemic. It shows the length that Some Republicans would satisfy the wishes of less than 30% of American adults who are not fully immunized.

Despite stiff opposition to the shutdown from many of their GOP colleagues, who indicated that Biden’s vaccine duties were bound in court, Republican Sentiment. Mike Lee of Utah and Roger Marshall of Kansas argue that they are taking a critical stance against the unvaccinated workers in their states who could lose their jobs because of their opposition to vaccines. .

“All we want to do is have a vote to give a parent, soldier, sailor, pilot, or marine that struggles to put food on the table,” Lee said in a statement. speaking in the Senate. “I hope with everything in me that when we vote tonight that the majority of us will do the right thing and that we will vote the way we know we should. That we should vote. We will stand with those who may lose their jobs.”

Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, countered that the pandemic has killed more than 780,000 Americans – “a higher body count than any war we’ve ever been in.” She noted that many businesses with vaccination requirements have seen their vaccination rates soar above 90%.

“I don’t understand why – after all the families have gone through, after all we’ve lost and all the hard work we’ve done to rebuild – anyone would want to throw it in. danger and throw away one of our most powerful tools. Murray said: get people vaccinated, stay safe and end this pandemic, once and for all. It is reckless.”

Lee described a desperate economic situation for vaccine-resistant Americans, even though Biden’s vaccination mandate for large employers would allow workers who don’t want to get vaccinated. periodically checked in lieu of injections. But GOP leaders across the country have repeated arguments that the requirement could somehow have devastating consequences, with little acknowledgment of the deadly consequences that prolonging the pandemic could have. can cause.

After the amendment failed on Thursday night, Lee told reporters he plans to continue to introduce measures to block Biden’s vaccine mandates on other bills, specifically alluding to The government’s next funding deadline, February 18, serves as another chance.

“This is not going to go away,” he told reporters. “It will come back again. It will return in any future vote. It will come back every chance we get.”

At a time when Americans are yearning for a return to normalcy, public health experts have argued that getting more people vaccinated is the only way out of the crisis. Resistance to masks, vaccines, and missions has allowed the virus to continue to thrive as the United States enters winter, especially in communities where vaccine resistance is highest.

But there are hardly any political consequences to the GOP ceding minority rule. The biggest champions for the rights of the unvaccinated – like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — typically peaks as the nation moves toward the primaries for next year’s midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race. The oxygen these Republicans provide for vaccine resistance has wreaked havoc. the White House’s strategy to improve vaccination rates.

‘A sad, sad comment’

Biden gave a nod to the strength of the unvaccinated minority when he argued on Thursday that new plan to fight Covid this winter, including the new Omicron variant, should “unite us.”

He stressed that his strategy “is not about decommissioning or decommissioning, but about widespread vaccinations, and boosters, testing and more.” When his vaccine requests, which are expected to go into effect in early January, will be reviewed by the courts, he noted that his new plan does not “extend or add to those duties.”

Biden outlines new steps to combat Covid in winter months

“I know Covid-19 has been very divisive in this country; it’s become a political issue, it’s a sad commentary,” the president said, speaking from the National Institutes of Health. “This is the time when we can do what we haven’t done enough to get through this entire pandemic – bring the whole country together, unite the people for the common purpose of fighting this virus. , to protect each other and to protect our economic recovery and take it literally as a patriotic responsibility rather than somehow denying people their basic rights.”

But the people who need to hear Biden’s message most — specifically, the approximately 45 million unvaccinated American adults — are likely not to listen. Kaiser . Family Foundation had found that the unvaccinated are three times more likely to lean Republican, and that the GOP’s confidence in Biden’s handling of the pandemic has continued to plummet.

The health consequences for the GOP in continuing to feed the unvaccinated American minority are being suffered at a time when nearly 1,000 Americans are still dying from Covid every day.

The average risk of dying from Covid-19 since the vaccine became widely available in states that voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 is 50% higher than in states that voted for Biden, according to the report. a CNN data analysis. from Johns Hopkins University.

As of February 1, red states that voted for Trump have had an average of 116 Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people – about 52% higher than the average of 77 deaths per 100,000 people in colored states. green. The five states with the worst death rates per capita during that time all favor Trump in 2020: Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia.

According to a new survey published by Kaiser . Family Foundation This week, 26% of Republicans said they “definitely won’t” get a Covid-19 vaccine.
Although Biden expressed hope this week that the Omicron variant would push Americans to get their first or second shots or boosters, the administration has clearly long way to go in persuading people – especially those leaning towards the GOP – to get their booster, which experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci have said is crucial for maximizing protection against virus. In the new Kaiser survey, 32% of vaccinated Democrats said they had been vaccinated, compared with 18% of Republicans who had been vaccinated. Only about 7% of vaccinated Democrats said they probably wouldn’t or would definitely not get a booster, compared with 31% of vaccinated Republicans who said the same.
Other aspects of the plan Biden outlined on Thursday include requiring insurers to cover Covid-19 home tests as well as distributing 50 million free home tests to community clinics community and medical center. He is also expanding the Transportation Security Administration’s mask requirements and imposing More stringent inspection duties for international travelers to the United States, with negative tests required within one day of departure to the United States.

“The actions that I am announcing are actions that all Americans can rally around and should unite us in the fight against Covid-19,” the president said. But whether he can forge any larger partnership with the GOP to advance his strategies remains to be seen.

.

Source link

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button