President biden said the exodus of millions of women from the workforce and the closure of schools – along with the mental health problems of children that could arise – during the Pandid-19 pandemic constitute a “national emergency”.
CBS Evening News anchor and editor-in-chief Norah O’Donnell spoke to Biden in the first interview he gave since his inauguration.
“It is a national emergency. It is genuinely a national emergency,” said Biden. Almost 3 million women left the workforce during the past year.
The president said he and his team realized that the way the Trump administration handled the pandemic was “even more terrible than we thought” after they entered the White House.
CBS News
“We think they indicated that there was a lot more vaccine available,” said Biden. “And it ended up not being the case. That’s why we increased it in every way that we can.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical advisor and the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, said that to achieve collective immunity, 75% of Americans need to be vaccinated. At the current rate of 1.3 million vaccines per day, CBS News has estimated that 75% of Americans will not be vaccinated by the end of 2021.
“We can’t wait that long,” said Biden.
In an example of a ramp-up, Biden said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that the government could use all 32 stadiums as vaccination sites.
“Are you going to use them, NFL stadiums to vaccinate?” O’Donnell asked.
“We sure will,” said Biden. “And, I mean, let me put it this way – I tell my team that they are available and I believe we are going to use them. Look, it was one thing if we had enough vaccine, which we didn’t have. We are pushing as hard as we can. so that more vaccines can be made. “
“You are the President of the United States, Commander-in-Chief. Can you do anything in terms of going to Moderna, going to Pfizer, saying, do we need more production?” O’Donnell asked.
“Yes. I think, because we already did that,” said Biden. “But the idea that this can be done and we can get collective immunity long before the end of next year – this summer, it is very difficult.”
Biden agreed with O’Donnell that there is a mental health emergency with children outside of school.
“Do you think it’s time for schools to reopen?” O’Donnell asked.
“I think it’s time for schools to reopen safely. Safely,” said Biden. “You have to have fewer people in the classroom. You have to have ventilation systems that have been reworked. Our CDC commissioner is going to come out with a science-based judgment, I think as early as Wednesday to define what the minimum requirements are are. “
On Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to prioritize the reopening of schools within the first 100 days in the office. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to issue guidelines on the reopening of schools this week.
“One of the things we need to do to ensure that schools are safe is to ensure that the spread of the disease in the community decreases and that means that it is our responsibility to work so that our children return to school safely and to teachers back to school safely. “said CDC director Rochelle Walensky on Friday.
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