The White House is facing new obstacles in the fight against COVID-19

President BidenJoe BidenBiden’s administration is still taking land near the border despite plans to stop building a wall: Olympics report, climate on the agenda for Biden meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Boehner on Afghanistan: ‘It it’s time to withdraw the troops’ MORE is facing a series of new obstacles to getting the coronavirus pandemic in the United States under control.

Cases are on the rise in several states, even as millions of Americans are vaccinated every day, which can be attributed in part to the lifting of restrictions on masks and companies, and to general pandemic fatigue more than a year after the virus started widespread spread. More contagious variants are spreading across the country, and experts warn that new variants may emerge until the country achieves greater levels of immunity.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a break from use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week. While many health experts have hailed it as the right move, a longer pause could increase hesitation about the vaccine, posing another challenge for Biden.

A CDC panel didn’t make a decision on Wednesday on when or if new recommendations should be made about using the shot, meaning the break could last several weeks.

The president has so far earned high marks for his pandemic response from health experts and the public alike. A poll in Monmouth this week found that 62 percent of adults say Biden did a good job with the coronavirus pandemic, a figure higher than the 54 percent approving Biden’s job as president less than 100 days after his presidency .

But the current setbacks can challenge those numbers.

“I don’t think it reflects on Biden specifically, but it could slow down the overall effort to get the country back on track and it could amplify the skepticism many Americans still have about the vaccine,” said a Democratic strategist from the United States. developments with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

While the Johnson & Johnson delay won’t disrupt the delivery of vaccine doses to the country, it denies the nation the only approved shot that can be delivered in a single dose, and a vaccine that is easier to store than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

This could make it more difficult to give vaccines to more vulnerable populations, and some public health officials would criticize the decision, arguing that it would lead to more hesitation about vaccines and delay recovery.

[The panel’s] the decision to wait would be fine if no pandemic was afoot, ”tweeted Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown School of Public Health. “But there is. And waiting 7-10 days won’t do much. Not sure what data they’ll get in that time.

The White House insists that its plan to have adequate vaccine doses for all American adults by the end of May will not be disrupted by the hiatus.

White House Press Secretary Jen PsakiJen Psaki Overnight: Government Says ‘Low to Medium Confidence’ Russia Behind Bounties for Troops in Afghanistan | ‘Low to medium risk’ of Russia invading Ukraine in the coming weeks | Intelligence leaders face sharp questions amid global threats to the House. Nighttime Health Care: Johnson & Johnson Postponement Leads CDC Panel Criticism | Pfizer CEO says third dose of COVID-19 vaccine is “likely” to be needed within a year | CDC Finds Less Than 1 Percent Of Fully Vaccinated People Got COVID-19 Hillicon Valley: Biden Administration Sanctions Russia For SolarWinds Hack, Election Interference MORE described the FDA process as the “gold standard” during a briefing on Thursday, saying the administration would allow the process to proceed while continuing to focus on vaccinating every American adult.

“We remain convinced that we have the supply necessary to meet demand,” she said. “Because we are over prepared and oversupply, we remain confident in that.”

The rate of daily vaccinations has steadily increased in recent weeks, with officials announcing this week that the US now uses an average of 3 million vaccinations against the coronavirus every day, with 3.5 million doses delivered Wednesday. Nearly 200 million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccine to date.

Still, hesitation about vaccines was an issue, even before the unwelcome news. Monmouth found that 21 percent of American adults say they are unlikely to receive a vaccine, up from 24 percent in March, but still high.

Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist who was a member of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board during the transition, acknowledged that the decision to suspend the vaccine could lead to more hesitation towards the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in particular, but described it as a necessary step in demonstrating transparency around the vaccine process for the public.

“If we feel that something is being hidden, I think it will do irreparable damage from a credibility perspective to our ability to continue to run these vaccine programs,” said Osterholm.

Michigan is one of the states where the number of new cases has risen sharply, and it has created some friction between the state governor and the White House.

Government Gretchen WhitmerGretchen Whitmer Watch Live: Whitmer Provides Update On COVID-19 In Michigan Multiple GOP Michiganders Test Positive For COVID-19 After White House District Meeting Over Whitmer’s Pandemic Treatment: She Has Shown ‘Serious’ Grit MORE (D), who was being considered for vice president, asked the administration to increase vaccine doses to the state to prevent the rise in the number of cases, but the administration said it would not. The head of the CDC argued that the most effective way to slow the spread would be to re-impose some restrictions, something Whitmer doesn’t like to do, given the restricted fatigue in her state. Whitmer faces reelection next year.

Biden has called on governors to reinstate mask mandates in states where they have been lifted and to reconsider the relaxation of some restrictions, warning that too many Americans feel the fight against the pandemic is over.

Health experts expressed confidence that by the summer, due to a combination of warmer weather and a wider vaccinated public, the country will likely have passed its current peak in cases. Still, Osterholm said the fight isn’t over yet.

“I think what’s happening in Minnesota, Michigan, and starting to happen in other states, is a warning sign that we’re not ready yet,” he said.

Officials have sought to address the hesitations among racial and ethnic minority groups and Republican voters, who polls show are far more likely than Democrats to oppose the vaccines.

The Biden government has invested resources in convincing reluctant populations that the vaccine is safe and effective and reaching disadvantaged communities, including rolling out a network of 275 organizations, including sports federations, business and faith groups, and other civil society organizations, to support the efforts coordinate to increase public confidence in the vaccine.

The Biden administration has also invested $ 3 billion from the president’s $ 1.9 trillion bailout package to support national and local efforts to increase vaccine uptake in minorities and rural communities.

But health experts describe the hesitation issue as a complex challenge, one that requires officials to understand the rationale of any group that has expressed their reluctance and address their concerns independently.

“If you look at all the different parties who may be reluctant to receive vaccinations, there is not one real answer. Part of the challenge is that you can’t just put up a billboard telling you to get vaccinated, ”said Osterholm.