What is Biden’s plan for the pandemic?
Summary
In a press conference yesterday, Trump said that a coronavirus vaccine was imminent, and that his handling of the pandemic saved American lives. Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is changing its tune about how to best handle the situation.
- With infection rates at an all-time high, President Biden faces unprecedented decisions.
- Biden says that he will work with governors and mayors to enact a nationwide mask mandate and stimulus packages to help workers, as well as to make testing and treatment available to everyone. However, concerns about ongoing and sweeping lockdowns have sparked skepticism.
- If Biden fails to contain the pandemic early in his presidency, it could continue to spread. If he overcompensates by shutting down economies, unemployment could skyrocket. In an interview yesterday, the co-chair of Biden’s advisory committee said that any lockdowns implemented by the Biden administration would be small-scale and targeted.
- Any policy solution for the COVID-19 pandemic would need to receive bipartisan support, which could be a challenge for Biden if the Senate maintains a Republican majority.
- Praises Biden’s COVID-19 plan. CNBC says that his approach, treating lockdowns like a “dimmer switch, not an on-and-off light switch,” will curb COVID cases without killing economies.
- Highlights Biden’s lockdown approach as relatively conservative. Newsweek reports that the Biden team pushed back on advisors who called for harsher lockdowns.
- Emphasizes his multifaceted policy plan in comparison to that of President Trump. Business Insider points out that Biden’s pandemic plan includes funding for testing, treatment, and contact tracing, not just lockdowns or vaccine funding.
- Is extremely critical of Biden’s pandemic plan, and the advisors who formed it. New York Post reports that the plan is totally unrealistic, and says that “Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisors are worse than the disease.”
- Frames his team as incompetent and suspect. The Blaze reports that one of Biden’s top coronavirus advisors flip-flopped on his approach to pandemic mitigation, and raises questions about his motive for switching agendas.
- Reports that Biden is committed to a sweeping lockdown, despite claiming otherwise. Wall Street Journal says that Biden’s advisory team is committed to locking down the country, and that they “learned nothing” from the economic impact of the first set of lockdowns. Fox News reports skeptically on the Biden team’s “dimmer switch” approach, saying that targeted lockdowns could easily lead to more widespread lockdowns under Biden’s administration.
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© Evelyn Torsher, 2020
