President Biden visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Georgia on Friday, praising health officials for “changing things” in order to “make everyone healthier” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden visited the CDC with Vice President Harris.
“Science is back,” said Biden. “I hope this is the beginning of the end of not paying attention.”
The president said: “We can build all the walls and have the most powerful army in the world, but we cannot stop viruses.”
Biden told the CDC team “you changed things”.
“Even if the whole government changes tomorrow, you have changed things,” he said. “It changed things to make everyone healthier.”
The president, referring to the new coronavirus, said: “This is a war and you are the frontline troops.”
He added: “I came to thank you. You are changing the psyche of the country, you are changing lives.
“We are the only country in the world that we left stronger than when we entered,” continued Biden. “It is who we are.”
The vice president added that the government is “no doubt about science”.
Harris called the CDC “a model for the world”, promoting “science-based decisions, hard work and a commitment to public health”.
“You do this work on behalf of people you will never know, who will never know your names because you care about our country and its well-being,” said Harris. “So, we’re here to help you.”
CDC director Rochelle Walensky thanked the president and vice president and said that while she is in office, the CDC “will bake the cake for everything we do, our commitment to equity, science and to bring back the health of American people. “