Daily US Times: The Biden administration launched its new daily health briefings Wednesday, focusing coronavirus pandemic with a projection that as many as 90,000 more in the US will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks — a sobering warning as the government strains to improve injection and delivery of vaccines.
The tone of the hourlong briefing was in line with President Biden’s promise to be straight with Americans about the state of the pandemic that has already claimed more than 425,000 US lives. It marked a sharp contrast to what had become the Trump show in the previous administration, when public health officials were repeatedly undermined by president Trump who shared his unproven ideas without hesitation.
The deaths projection was not much different from what Joe Biden himself has said, but nonetheless served as a stark reminder of the brutal road ahead.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said: “I know this is not news we all want to hear, but this is something we must say so we are all aware.”
“If we are united in action we can turn things around,” he said.
The new briefings are part of President Biden’s attempt to rebuild trust and mobilize Americans to follow health guidance on the coronavirus and to break down public resistance to the vaccine. The briefing set for three times a week.
Wednesday’s briefing was conducted virtually, with no shortage of audio gaps and technical glitches. Administration officials appeared on Zoom from separate locations, in keeping with the Biden administration’s efforts to model best practices for safe work habits in the Covid pandemic.
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