Biden's Covid Plan

HOW GOVERNORS WANT TO FIX THE NATION’S TESTING WOES — Fed up with the White House’s refusal to mount a national coronavirus testing strategy, a growing coalition of state leaders is taking a drastic step: Try to build one on their own.

The group of 10 governors led by Maryland Republican Larry Hogan is nearing a deal to purchase 5 million rapid tests, in a first-of-its-kind agreement aimed at fortifying their states ahead of the fall, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports.

— The so-called compact grew out of frustration with the feds. Hogan, a critic of Trump’s Covid-19 response, began putting together the group after the White House lobbied last month to slash funding for testing — even as it’s declined to build any kind of federal testing infrastructure.

“I don’t want to argue anymore after five or six months — now, we’re going to get it done,” Hogan said in an interview.

— It’s an imperfect solution to an ongoing problem. Buying 5 million rapid tests — a deal that could be finalized as soon as this week — won’t get the U.S. out of its deep testing hole.

But it may be a starting point ahead of the fall, allowing states to deploy the machines as screening mechanisms at nursing homes and in schools and essential businesses. And it signals to manufacturers that there’s enough demand for them to scale up production.

— One issue to watch: Whether the administration intervenes. HHS spokesperson Mia Heck called a federal initiative to supply all nursing homes with rapid tests the “highest priority” and suggested the federal government could use its authorities to jump the line and ensure it gets first access.

That would further frustrate governors who spent months urging the administration to get off the sideline as testing backlogs grew, and who say their new testing coalition is a direct result of Trump’s refusal to get more involved.

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Moderate Right said:

Well, I saw a Biden commercial last night detailing his Covid Pandemic plan. It mentioned only three things:

1. National mask mandate

2. Increased testing

3. Increased PPE for healthcare workers

1. Every state is different. Vermont has had a total overall of 1530 cases since the beginning with a total of 58 deaths overall since the beginning. Why should people in Vermont and other states low on the totem pole be forced to wear masks by the federal government? California instituted a mask mandate on June 18, two months ago. On that date they had 4084 new cases for June 18th. Two months after the mask mandate yesterday, August 18th, California had 4636 new cases for the day. On June 18th, the first day of the mask mandate, California had 82 new deaths and two months after the mask mandate, on August 18th, they had 100 new deaths for the day. So, please tell us Joe, is this the best you've got to fight the virus? California | The COVID Tracking Project

2. Testing is already gone up. In California on June 18th they did 76,542 new tests for the day. August 18th they had 115,259 new tests from same link provided in (1).

3. We are already increasing PPE. This is nothing different than what Trump is already doing. Since I've been using California as an example because they have had a mask mandate since June 18th - Governor Newsom Announces Enhanced State Stockpile, Purchase of 420 Million New Protective Masks | California Governor



This is Biden's plan?

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Ikari said:

It's not great, but it's greater than zero which is what we have now. The Federal government should really be looking to coordinated interstate responses, ensuring that hospitals and hospital workers can get the correct protection, that testing can happen and that every State has what it needs for this, that there is enough equipment in hospitals across the many states, etc.

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Establish Sustainable Supply Chain for PPE and Supplies and Help for Health Care Workers:

The Biden Plan:

• Implement a coordinated, country-wide, future-facing national effort to acquire, produce, and distribute PPE, test kits and machines, lab supplies, and other critical supplies, including by fully utilizing the authorities under the Defense Production Action.
• Identify tomorrow’s needs for PPE, lab reagents, and test supplies when they run low, as well as replenish depleted supplies in hard-hit areas, especially for federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, safety-net hospitals, and nursing homes, which are typically resource-poor and disproportionately serve vulnerable populations that are bearing the brunt of COVID-19.
• Build now toward a future, flexible American-sourced and manufactured capability to ensure we are not vulnerable to supply chain disruptions in times of crisis.

In addition, Biden would ensure the U.S. government steps up for nurses, doctors and other health care workers and first responders, including by providing:

• Guaranteed priority access to national supplies of PPE.
• Premium Pay for health care workers for putting themselves at risk. There is no substitute for ensuring the safety of health care workers, but as Biden has said, everyone who puts their lives on the line should receive a boost in their paychecks.
• Emergency paid leave, which Biden has called for anyone who gets COVID-19 or needs to care for a loved one who has it.
• Free, accessible, and safe housing to enable health care workers to quarantine away from their loved ones as necessary.
• A Health Care Worker COVID-19 Consultation Hotline and strengthened clinician peer-to-peer learning, so that frontline staff do not have to rely on social media to learn best practices in treating COVID-19 patients.
• Access to an array of prevention and early intervention mental health services, including health-status monitoring, emotional-health support and psychological first aid, to every COVID-19 health care worker. Seeking help should not impact your current or future employment, including your ability to get a license. This is in addition to Biden’s robust commitment to ensuring every American has access to mental health insurance coverage and expanding immediate access to telemental health services by requiring all carriers — not just Medicare — to pay for telemental health services. There should be no barrier to mental health care in this crisis – none.
• The mobilization of health care workers nationwide, including assessing areas of need, developing a registry of volunteers, and ensuring that staffing gaps are voluntarily filled in a safe, sustainable way.

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Moderate Right said:

Why should people in Vermont and other states low on the totem pole be forced to wear masks by the federal government?

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Greenbeard said:

Given that we have no national plan (and it's gotten us to 172,000 dead so far), let's try having a plan. See how it goes.

Under the current federal leadership vacuum, this country is broken.

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Moderate Right said:

Biden's plan is basically Trump's plan except for having a national mask mandate, which I posted facts about how it has worked in California.

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Ikari said:

It's not great, but it's greater than zero which is what we have now. The Federal government should really be looking to coordinated interstate responses, ensuring that hospitals and hospital workers can get the correct protection, that testing can happen and that every State has what it needs for this, that there is enough equipment in hospitals across the many states, etc.

The mask mandate? Well there are some places that may not need it, but we do know that if everyone wears a mask we can slow down the spread of covid. It's not the worst thing. But another thing Biden will need to do is continually hammer a message of unity during the pandemic, that we're coming together as a People, as Americans and doing what we can for our fellow countryman to get things back on track as quickly as possible. That's a message we have not had out of Trump and one that is sorely needed. People need to calm the **** down, and Trump has just been riling people up.

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azgreg said:

The Biden Plan to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Prepare for Future Global Health Threats – Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website

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OlNate said:

lol... I mean, at this point the deadline for all the really good ideas has passed. Thanks, Trump.

I think it's an improvement that Biden has any clear plan. As you guys love to point out, a lot of this is on the governors. What Biden is promising is what Trump could have, and most certainly should have, done all along: provide consistent messaging / leadership, and support. It might not sound like much of a plan, but if Trump had done it, you'd be in nowhere near the situation you find yourselves in now.

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Moderate Right said:

There is no plan for Covid, except for what I just posted. Biden's plan is a plan for future pandemics, not this one.

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noonereal said:

duh....
so that they stay low


what is with YOU folks?

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Moderate Right said:

There is no plan for Covid, except for what I just posted. Biden's plan is a plan for future pandemics, not this one.

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Moderate Right said:

Biden's plan is Trump's plan except for the national mask mandate, of which I posted the results of California's mask mandate.

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Moderate Right said:

I posted the results of the California mask mandate. Are you a fact denier? California is in worse shape now than when they issued their mask mandate two months ago.

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Greenbeard said:

Trump has no plan.

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Moderate Right said:

Biden's plan is basically Trump's plan except for having a national mask mandate, which I posted facts about how it has worked in California. It hasn't.

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Linc said:

Trump should continue holding rallies and meetings with no masks on and little to no social distancing, showing the World we have two Americas.

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Xilnik said:

The biggest issue we have had is testing. Initially, we did not have any testing, which is how the virus spread more here than in many other countries. We had no idea how bad it was until late March. The private sector should have been given access to virus samples sooner and developed their tests in February while the CDC figured out their failed test kits.

We have a lot of testing now, but it is not being used effectively in most places. We need more focused testing and not just more testing. Tests should be processed faster, 1-2 days maximum, and contact tracing should occur from those who are positive to determine who else needs to be tested and quarantined. Waiting 4-5 days for a test result, and often twice that to actually call people with results, just allows people who are contagious to transmit COVID-19 to more people before test and quarantine measures can be taken. Each person they transmit to then has the same problem where they expose people for the full ~10 days that they are contagious.

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noonereal said:

thanks for sharing and God Bless you

amazing... simply amazing

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Moderate Right said:

Ummmmmmmmmmmm, Obama didn't have millions of Covid tests in storage waiting to be used. We are a country of 330 million people. Creating a test and getting it to 330 million people quickly is something that no one could have done, no matter who was president.

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Linc said:

Trump should continue holding rallies and meetings with no masks on and little to no social distancing, showing the World we have two Americas.

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