Washington – Members of the White House COVID-19 response team and federal public health officials held a press briefing Monday on the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic as President Joe Biden and a group of Senate Republicans are ready to gather to present a COVID-19 Emergency aid package to be discussed.
Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team, announced that the first COVID-19 test at home comes online and can test for 90% accuracy in 15 minutes. The test, from a company called Ellume, is expected to cost around $ 30.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the president, stressed the importance of vaccination as soon as it is someone’s turn. Vaccination will not only slow the spread of the virus and protect individuals, but it will also prevent the emergence of additional COVID-19 variants.
“Please get vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available to you,” Fauci insisted.
Fauci tried to instill confidence in the efficacy of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which has an efficacy rate of about 70% – lower than Pfizer and Moderna’s efficacy rates, but still an incredibly useful tool in the fight against COVID-19. The vaccine will lower hospital admissions and the rate of serious illness, and since it is a single dose, it may be more useful for some populations, Fauci noted.
Slavitt said Biden’s administration is concerned that some healthcare providers withhold doses for second shots when not needed. That doesn’t have to and shouldn’t happen, Slavitt said, assuring Americans that there will be enough supplies for the second dose.
January was the deadliest month of the pandemic, and the death toll from COVID-19 is more than 441,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Biden administration expects an additional 90,000 Americans to die in the next four weeks.
Although Mr. Biden has taken steps to speed up the distribution of vaccine doses to the states, he continues to urge Americans to wear masks and follow social distances guidelines to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. New strains of coronavirus detected in three countries, the UK, South Africa and Brazil, have been reported in the US, and Fauci warned last week that cases of the new variants could exceed the number of cases of the earlier strain.
Mr. Biden has filed a $ 1.9 trillion economic bailout to combat the economic impact of the pandemic and boost vaccine testing and distribution. However, the charges of the president’s plan were met with skepticism from Senate Republicans, and a group of 10 GOP senators will meet with Mr. Biden Monday night to discuss their own proposal.
The Republicans’ plan totals $ 600 billion, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy told Fox News on Sunday, and includes more targeted direct payments to Americans. Democratic leaders in Congress, meanwhile, are preparing to take the first step this week in a legislative process that would allow Mr. Biden’s coronavirus aid package to pass without Republican backing.