Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-29-21

Political
President Joe Biden
announced Tuesday that his administration is working with coronavirus vaccine makers to buy another 200 million doses that would ar- rive this summer -- raising the total to 600 million and ensuring the U. S. will even- tually have two shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for nearly every American.
Biden also said the federal government will be increas- ing the number of doses shipped to states -- from 8.6 million doses a week to 10 million a week for the next three weeks, and will start notifying states how many doses they will receive three weeks in advance.
"We will both increase the supply in the short term by more than 15%, and give our states and local partners more certainty about when the deliveries will arrive. These two steps are going to help increase our prospects of hitting or exceeding -- God willing -- the ambitious goal of 100 million shots in 100 days," Biden said in remarks at the White House on Tues- day.
The announcement does not resolve the major short- ages that the nation is expe- riencing now and does not suggest the Biden adminis- tration has found a novel way to ramp up production quickly.
But Biden said that "God willing" it will allow millions more people to be vaccinated earlier than anticipated, cau- tioning that the "brutal truth" is it will still take months to get through the majority of the population.
"This is going to allow mil- lions of more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated. We've got a long way to go, though," he said.
The slight uptick to 10 mil- lion in the next three weeks had been expected, as vac- cine makers slowly expand supply, and the U. S. govern-
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
Saying it's time to act "be- cause that's what faith and morality require us to do," President Biden on Tues- day signed four executive ac- tions aimed at advancing racial equity for Americans the White House says have been underserved and left be- hind.
Biden said Tuesday that the measures follow one of his core campaign promises: to restore "the soul of the na- tion," as he often said during the presidential race.
"Our soul will be troubled," he said, "as long as systemic racism is allowed to exist."
In announcing the actions, Biden cited the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a Minneapolis police offi- cer last May, which touched off demonstrations in cities across the United States. Biden called the killing "the knee on the neck of justice," and said that because of it, "the ground has shifted. It changed minds and mind- sets."
The four executive actions Biden signed:
Susan Rice, President Biden's domestic policy adviser, dis- cusses his racial equity agenda Tuesday at the White House.
Direct the Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment "to take steps necessary to redress racially discrimina- tory federal housing policies";
Direct the Department of Justice to end its use of pri- vate prisons;
Reaffirm the federal gov- ernment's "commitment to tribal sovereignty and consul- tation".
Combat xenophobia against Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
ment already had the option to buy more doses under ex- isting contracts.
Under President Donald Trump, the U. S. govern- ment had already agreed to buy 200 million doses from Pfizer and 200 million from Moderna, which were deliv- ered by July.
Because each vaccine re- quires two shots, those 400 million doses already pur- chased from Pfizer and Mod- erna would be enough to vaccinate about 200 million U. S. adults. But tens of mil- lions more people will need to be immunized to reach "herd immunity."
Biden emphasized that the U.S. now expects 600 million doses of the two vac- cines, enough for 300 million Americans to be fully vacci- nated with both doses.
The FDA has not signed off on giving either of the available COVID-19 vaccines to children until the compa- nies complete more research. The Pfizer vaccine is author- ized in people as young as 16, whereas the Moderna vac- cine is authorized for people over 18 years old.
A senior administration official did not provide a firm timetable on the 200 million extra doses, but hailed the move as a guarantee that every American who wants a shot can get one.
The official said using the Defense Production Act to boost supply remains an op- tion. Examples include more
specialized syringes and raw materials, although vaccine makers said there is little that can be done in the near term to boost supply rapidly be- cause it is so highly technical. "We will do everything in our power to increase the supply and speed the administration of the vaccine," the official said.
And in a moment that showed a significant contrast to his predecessor Biden also said that masks are the best way to defend against the virus in the coming months, saying not wearing a mask is "not very American."
"In the next few months, masks -- not vaccines -- are the best defense against COVID-19. Experts say that wearing masks from now just until April would save 50,000 lives who otherwise will pass away if we don't wear these masks. That's why I'm asking the American peo- ple to mask up for the first 100 days," he said.
He added "the fact is, you want to be patriotic, you're going to protect people."
This report was featured in the Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2020, episode of “Start Here,” ABC News’ daily news podcast.
"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 min- utes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.
U. S. President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday rescinded Former President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" border policy, which had lead to the separations of thou- sands of undocumented mi- grant families.
According to a memo is- sued Tuesday by Acting At- torney General Monty Wilkinson, federal prosecu- tors were directed to return to the previous policy of de- ciding whether to pursue in- dividual cases.
Under the zero tolerance policy, effective from April
2018 to June 2018, all adults who illegally entered the United States, including those with children, were re- ferred for prosecution. Any children who had entered with those adults were sepa- rated from them and put into the custody of the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services.
The widely criticized pol- icy led to the separation of more than 5,500 children from their parents, with no method for reuniting the chil- dren with their parents, some of whom were deported, ac- cording to a The Hill report.
Biden Plans To Purchase 200M More Doses Of Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines
Biden White House Aims To Advance Racial Equity With Executive Actions
Biden Administration Ends 'Zero Tolerance' Border Policy Leading To Family Separations
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2021