President Biden is facing calls for a federal government response to the next phase of the pandemic.
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
President Biden is facing calls for a federal government response to the next phase of the pandemic.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Republicans in Congress have asked President Biden to end the designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency (PHE), citing the accessibility of vaccines and other methods. effective treatment as well as the harmful effects of long-term isolation on public health.
Their request for the president to rescind the appointment came as calls increased – including from former Biden advisers – for the federal government to map out a roadmap for the next phase of the pandemic. Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have dropped following the spike caused by omicrons, and deaths have also begun to drop, although the seven-day average remains the same. 2,300 people die every daysince Thursday.
“We’re moving toward a point where COVID won’t disrupt our daily lives, where COVID won’t be an ongoing crisis but will be something we can protect and treatment,” Jeffrey Zient, White House COVID responder. coordinator, said in a briefing on wednesday.
Last week, several states led by Democrats announced end of house mask quest.
“Today, we urge your administration to do what so many states and other countries have done: accept that COVID-19 is endemic, acknowledge that current heavy-handed interventions government is doing more harm than good and immediately begins the process by which we free PHE so our country can return to normal,” GOP members of Congress wrote in a letter titled Thursday.
More than 70 House Republicans – led by Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Brett Guthrie and Morgan Griffith – signed the letter to Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
They asked Biden to submit a plan to Congress by March 15 at the latest.
Becerra last renewal of PHE designation one month ago. The letter notes that it will expire on April 15.
Republicans beat Biden
The GOP’s letter blames the “Chinese Communist Party” for “covering up the start of the pandemic,” and praises former President Donald Trump for launching Operation Warp Speed, the effort. of his administration in fast-tracking the creation of a vaccine. Trump has touted a vaccine but also downplayed the severity of the pandemic and advocated unproven and risky treatments.
The letter points out that prolonged isolation can affect mental health as well as concerns about student decline as a result of virtual classes.
“While PHE was certainly needed at the outset of the pandemic, it was always meant to be temporary. Our country is now in a much different situation than when the PHE was originally enacted,” the photo said. written letter.
Republicans urge Biden to do more than just revoke the PHE statement:
“We urge you to act quickly to lift all vaccine mandates, which have not stopped the spread of COVID-19, but have alienated many Americans and caused dislocation. staff shortages in hospitals and other health care facilities; lifting all masking mandates and federal guidelines requiring children to wear masks in schools and daycare facilities (those this is based on faulty data and is used in many Democratic-led jurisdictions to justify such mandates); and emphasizes that schools are fully open so that children can Americans, especially children, are in crisis. Instead of keeping us in a permanent state of emergency, it’s time for this administration. [to] put people first and stop clinging to the powers you currently enjoy under the PHE. “
Many medical staff have had to leave work because of infections and cases of coronavirus delayed everything from heart surgery to cancer treatment. Biden also call for Schools will reopen completely for in-person classes.
