“Covid-19 need no longer control our lives”

 

 

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• The White House has outlined an updated approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, almost exactly two years after the virus reached the US, causing mass economic shutdowns, lockdowns, hospital overcrowding, and nearly 1 million deaths to date in the US alone. President Joe Biden unveiled the plan on Wednesday, following his State of the Union address. [The White House]
• The National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan hinges on four components: testing to treat Covid-19, preparing for new variants, increasing global vaccination, and preventing economic and educational shutdowns. The White House’s new direction aims to adjust to a “new normal,” viewing Covid-19 as a background reality of life rather an overarching international crisis, as it’s been for the past two years. [The Hill / Peter Sullivan]
• “We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against Covid-19 where severe cases are down to a level not seen since July of last year,” Biden said during Tuesday’s State of the Union address. However, he stressed that although the new plan is aimed at making the crisis less acute, “we never will just accept living with Covid-19, we’ll continue to combat the virus, as we do other diseases.” [Reuters]
• The new plan will expand access to Covid-19 oral antiviral treatments such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid, distributing the treatment to pharmacies along with rapid tests so that people can start treatment immediately after testing positive. More than 1 million doses of the treatment will be made available this month, with more coming in April. [Axios / Caitlin Owens]
• All the new initiatives will require new funding from Congress, which will go toward increasing vaccine manufacturing capability; replenishing the national stockpile of tests, masks, and antiviral pills; and increasing monitoring capabilities to detect variants. [Al Jazeera]