by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday President Joe Biden launched his strongest attack to date in the war on COVID. In an address to the nation, the President outlined a series of steps that he will take immediately to insure that many more Americans get vaccinated against the deadly virus. Right on cue, a slew of GOP politicians announced their knee-jerk opposition to the President's efforts, and the Republican National Committee said that it planned to go to court to stop Biden's efforts to protect Americans.
At present it is estimated that eighty million eligible Americans have not been vaccinated against COVID.
In his remarks to the nation yesterday the President chastised those who have resisted getting vaccinated. He said, in part:
"We've been patient. But out patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us."
In an effort to increase the numbers of vaccinated people in the United States, the Biden administration recently announced, through the Secretary of Defense, that all active duty military personnel would be required to get the COVID shots. In addition to active duty military, all employees of the executive branch and all government contractors will now all be required to be vaccinated, as well as employees of businesses that employ over one hundred individuals. Additionally, 17 million workers in health care facilities which receive payments through medicare and medicaid will also now have to be vaccinated.
The Department of Health and Human Services will begin implementing a program to vaccinate people working in Head Start programs as well as in schools run by the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The President encouraged large entertainment venues to begin requiring proof of vaccination for their attendees.
Biden announced a doubling of federal fines for people who refuse to wear face masks on airline flights or who decline to wear masks on federal property. He also said that schools which have funds cut by their states when they implement mask mandates, will have those lost funds reimbursed by the federal government.
The President addressed COVID testing and said that his administration has agreements with Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger to sell in-home COVID testing kits at cost starting next week.
The GOP officeholders who expressed anger over these latest measures to get the populace vaccinated couch the issue in terms of personal freedom, but others, those who agree with the President's efforts, see it as a matter of everyone doing their part to defeat a deadly enemy, one that operates across the artificial boundaries of political parties.
COVID kills indiscriminately, and it is going to take a coordinated and prolonged effort by Americans of every political persuasion to defeat it. This isn't some silly political skirmish, it is a health crisis that has the potential to kill us all. It is time to set politics aside, roll up our sleeves, and commit to slaying this monstrous pandemic once and for all.
Joe Biden is our leader, and, like him or not, we all need to follow his direction and do everything that we can to put COVID behind us. There will be plenty of time for political fighting later on - after this crisis has passed!
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