The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest health challenges in US history. The TFG’s administration completely blew it, causing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
One thing it did right was to push rapid development of a vaccine. But TFG’s rollout of that vaccine has been described as “botched,” “bungled,” “chaotic,” “incoherent,” and “a mess.”
Joseph R. Biden knew from the start that he would have to transform this picture immediately. In his first year in office, as summarized by KFF Health News in December 2021, Biden’s Vaccine Rollout Was a Success.
Eleven months ago, President Joe Biden assumed office during one of the most critical moments of the covid-19 pandemic. Case counts and death rates were shockingly high. The vaccine rollout, which had started under former President Donald Trump, was disjointed. People were generally sequestered in their homes, and kids were relegated to remote learning.
Biden promised to change all that. He said he would differ from Trump in that he would listen to the scientists, encourage the use of masks and give the federal government a stronger role in addressing the pandemic. He also pledged to deliver the “most efficient mass vaccination plan in U.S. history” and to get 100 million covid shots administered in his first 100 days.
How well did Biden do? The president’s vaccine rollout, overall, was excellent.
Even before taking office, Biden set an initial target of getting 100 million doses of vaccine administered in his first 100 days. While there was initial uncertainty about this target, it turned out to be an easily achievable goal that took only 58 days.
The U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Program at One Year: How Many Deaths and Hospitalizations Were Averted? The Commonwealth Fund answered its own question at the end of 2021: over a million deaths and over 10 million hospitalizations didn’t happen because of the success of the vaccine rollout!
- In the absence of a vaccination program, there would have been approximately 1.1 million additional COVID-19 deaths and more than 10.3 million additional COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. by November 2021.
- Without the U.S. vaccination program, COVID-19 deaths would have been approximately 3.2 times higher and COVID-19 hospitalizations approximately 4.9 times higher than the actual toll during 2021.
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The U.S. vaccination program campaign has profoundly altered the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing nearly 1.1 million deaths. Even with only about 60 percent of Americans vaccinated to date, the nation has dodged a massive wave of COVID-19 deaths that would have started as the Delta variant took hold in August 2021. Because of Delta’s rapid and nationwide spread, deaths due to COVID-19 would have far exceeded all previous peaks. . . .
Even the 2.6 million COVID-related hospitalizations that occurred during 2021 placed an enormous strain on hospitals, with many staff lost not only to the virus but also to exhaustion and burnout. Faced with [10 million people sick enough to require admission], U.S. hospitals operating under crisis standards of care would likely have had no choice but to turn away tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of individuals.
And Biden continued to keep us safe the next year.
Biden-Harris Administration Secures 66 Million Doses of Moderna’s Variant-Specific COVID-19 Vaccine Booster for Potential Use in Fall and Winter 2022
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), today announced an agreement to purchase 66 million doses of Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster candidate for potential use in the fall and winter. This contract announcement follows a recommendation by the FDA last month that vaccine manufacturers update their existing COVID-19 vaccines to create a bivalent booster that can target BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.
Today’s purchase is in addition to the 105 million bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster doses the U.S. government purchased recently from Pfizer for potential use later this year, pending FDA authorization and a recommendation by CDC. Pending those FDA and CDC actions, HHS would receive the first deliveries of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine booster doses in early fall.
“We must stay vigilant in our fight against COVID-19 and continue to expand Americans’ access to the best vaccines and treatments,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “As we look to the fall and winter, we’re doing just that—ensuring Americans have the tools they need to stay safe and help keep our nation moving forward.”
And the next year, as reported by NBC News in August 2023:
Biden says he will request more funding for a new coronavirus vaccine
President Joe Biden said Friday that he is planning to request more money from Congress to develop another new coronavirus vaccine, as scientists track new waves and hospitalizations rise, though not like before.
Officials are already expecting updated Covid vaccines that contain one version of the omicron strain, called XBB.1.5. It’s an important change from today’s combination shots, which mix the original coronavirus strain with last year’s most common omicron variants. But there will always be a need for updated vaccines as the virus continues to mutate.
People should be able to start rolling up their sleeves next month for what officials hope is an annual fall Covid shot. Pfizer, Moderna and smaller manufacturer Novavax all are brewing doses of the XBB update, but the Food and Drug Administration will have to sign off on each, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must then issue recommendations for their use.
Long story short: Biden saved many many lives with his fast and efficient action on vaccines — thousands upon thousands in just the first year.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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This is an entry in my ongoing series Boosting Biden.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.
