COVID-19 prevention management and vaccine distribution have been some of the most discussed topics over the last year. The United States has been hit harder than most countries, and it is essential to provide effective countermeasures to the virus spread. From these considerations, many experts believe that the Federal government should have acquired and distributed more test kits and vaccines. At present, Biden recognizes the pandemic problem but emphasizes the States’ importance, “There is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level” (Franck, 2021, para. 5). In other words, government involvement could only prevent further pandemic spread with the appropriate state support and cooperation from civilians. Most experts recognize the effectiveness of vaccines, particularly to relieve the symptoms of the strain (WHO, 2022). Therefore, the solution only at the Federal level would most likely have little effect, and it is vital to raise public awareness concerning the dangers of COVID-19 and the benefits of vaccination.
Concerning Biden’s remark about the unexpected development of COVID-19 in late 2021, I can partially agree with the statement. The Omicron variant, which was first discovered and named on 26 November 2021, is a more contagious strain than previous mutations (WHO, 2021). Thus, Omicron caused a drastic spike in contamination cases and led to increased demand for test kits (UC Davis Health, 2022). Much research needs to be done about the Omicron variant, and this development was relatively unexpected. Nevertheless, the country is much more prepared in 2022, compared to the initial stages of the pandemic, and Biden has asserted to buy 500 million test kits (BBC News, 2021). Ultimately, the Federal government, States, and people should be cooperative and work together to prevent the further development of the Omicron variant.
References
BBC News. (2021). Biden buys 500m test kits to tackle Covid surge in US – BBC News [Video file]. Web.
Franck, T. (2021). Biden says COVID surge needs to be solved at state level, vows full federal support.CNBC. Web.
UC Davis Health. (2022). Omicron variant: What we know so far about this COVID-19 strain. Web.
World Health Organization. (2022). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Vaccines. Web.
World Health Organization. (2021). Update on Omicron. Web.