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Our patience is wearing thin, you stupid antivaxxers !!!
'We've been patient but our patience is wearing thin': Read Biden's
speech ordering new COVID-19 vaccine mandates
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9976207/Read-Bidens-speech-ordering-new-COVID-19-vaccine-mandates.html
Good evening, my fellow Americans. I want to talk to you about where we
are in the battle against COVID-19, the progress we’ve made, and the
work we have left to do.
And it starts with understanding this: Even as the Delta variant 19
[sic] has -- COVID-19 - has been hitting this country hard, we have the
tools to combat the virus, if we can come together as a country and use
those tools.
If we raise our vaccination rate, protect ourselves and others with
masking and expanded testing, and identify people who are infected, we
can and we will turn the tide on COVID-19.
It will take a lot of hard work, and it’s going to take some time. Many
of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still
not vaccinated, even though the vaccine is safe, effective, and free.
You might be confused about what is true and what is false about
COVID-19. So before I outline the new steps to fight COVID-19 that I’m
going to be announcing tonight, let me give you some clear information
about where we stand.
First, we have cons- -- we have made considerable progress
in battling COVID-19. When I became President, about 2 million Americans
were fully vaccinated. Today, over 175 million Americans have that
protection.
Before I took office, we hadn’t ordered enough vaccine for every
American. Just weeks in office, we did. The week before I took office,
on January 20th of this year, over 25,000 Americans died that week from COVID-19. Last week, that grim weekly toll was down 70 percent.
And in the three months before I took office, our economy was faltering, creating just 50,000 jobs a month. We’re now averaging 700,000 new jobs
a month in the past three months.
This progress is real. But while America is in much better shape than it
was seven months ago when I took office, I need to tell you a second fact.
We’re in a tough stretch, and it could last for a while. The highly
contagious Delta variant that I began to warn America about back in July
spread in late summer like it did in other countries before us.
While the vaccines provide strong protections for the vaccinated, we
read about, we hear about, and we see the stories of hospitalized
people, people on their death beds, among the unvaccinated over these
past few weeks.
This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And it’s caused by the fact that despite America having an unprecedented and successful vaccination
program, despite the fact that for almost five months free vaccines have
been available in 80,000 different locations, we still have nearly 80
million Americans
who have failed to get the shot.
And to make matters worse, there are elected officials actively working
to undermine the fight against COVID-19. Instead of encouraging people
to get vaccinated and mask up, they’re ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying from COVID in their communities. This is totally unacceptable.
Third, if you wonder how all this adds up, here’s the math: The vast
majority of Americans are doing the right thing. Nearly three quarters
of the eligible have gotten at least one shot, but one quarter has not
gotten any. That’s nearly 80 million Americans not vaccinated. And in a country as large as ours, that’s 25 percent minority. That 25 percent
can cause a lot of damage -- and they are.
The unvaccinated overcrowd our hospitals, are overrunning the emergency
rooms and intensive care units, leaving no room for someone with a heart attack, or
[pancreatitis], or cancer.
And fourth, I want to emphasize that the vaccines provide very strong protection from severe illness from COVID-19. I know there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation. But the world’s leading scientists confirm
that if you are fully vaccinated, your risk of severe illness from
COVID-19 is very low.
In fact, based on available data from the summer, only one of out of
every 160,000 fully vaccinated Americans was hospitalized for COVID per day.
These are the facts.
So here’s where we stand: The path ahead, even with the Delta variant,
is not nearly as bad as last winter. But what makes it incredibly more frustrating is that we have the tools to combat COVID-19, and a distinct minority of Americans --supported by a distinct minority of elected
officials -- are keeping us from turning the corner. These pandemic
politics, as I refer to, are making people sick, causing unvaccinated
people to die.
We cannot allow these actions to stand in the way of protecting the
large majority of Americans who have done their part and want to get
back to life as normal.
As your President, I’m announcing tonight a new plan to require more
Americans to be vaccinated, to combat those blocking public health.
My plan also increases testing, protects our economy, and will make our
kids safer in schools. It consists of six broad areas of action and many specific measures in each that -- and each of those actions that you can
read more about at WhiteHouse.gov. WhiteHouse.gov.
The measures -- these are going to take time to have full impact. But if
we implement them, I believe and the scientists indicate, that in the
months ahead we can reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans,
decrease hospitalizations and deaths, and allow our children to go to
school safely and keep our economy strong by keeping businesses open.
First, we must increase vaccinations among the unvaccinated with new vaccination requirements. Of the nearly 80 million eligible Americans
who have not gotten vaccinated, many said they were waiting for approval
from the Food and Drug Administration -- the FDA. Well, last month, the
FDA granted that approval.
So, the time for waiting is over. This summer, we made progress through
the combination of vaccine requirements and incentives, as well as the
FDA approval. Four million more people got their first shot in August
than they did in July.
But we need to do more. This is not about freedom or personal choice.
It’s about protecting yourself and those around you -- the people you
work with, the people you care about, the people you love.
My job as President is to protect all Americans.
So, tonight, I’m announcing that the Department of Labor is developing
an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees,
that together employ over 80 million workers, to ensure their workforces
are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week.
Some of the biggest companies are already requiring this: United
Airlines, Disney, Tysons Food, and even Fox News.
The bottom line: We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from
unvaccinated co-workers. We’re going to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by increasing the share of the workforce that is vaccinated in businesses
all across America.
My plan will extend the vaccination requirements that I previously
issued in the healthcare field. Already, I’ve announced, we’ll be
requiring vaccinations that all nursing home workers who treat patients
on Medicare and Medicaid, because I have that federal authority.
Tonight, I’m using that same authority to expand that to cover those who
work in hospitals, home healthcare facilities, or other medical
facilities –- a total of 17 million healthcare workers.
If you’re seeking care at a health facility, you should be able to know
that the people treating you are vaccinated. Simple. Straightforward.
Period.
Next, I will sign an executive order that will now require all executive
branch federal employees to be vaccinated -- all. And I’ve signed
another executive order that will require federal contractors to do the
same.
If you want to work with the federal government and do business with us,
get vaccinated. If you want to do business with the federal government, vaccinate your workforce.
And tonight, I’m removing one of the last remaining obstacles that make
it difficult for you to get vaccinated.
The Department of Labor will require employers with 100 or more workers
to give those workers paid time off to get vaccinated. No one should
lose pay in order to get vaccinated or take a loved one to get vaccinated.
Today, in total, the vaccine requirements in my plan will affect about
100 million Americans –- two thirds of all workers.
And for other sectors, I issue this appeal: To those of you running
large entertainment venues -- from sports arenas to concert venues to
movie theaters -- please require folks to get vaccinated or show a
negative test as a condition of entry.
And to the nation’s family physicians, pediatricians, GPs -- general practitioners –- you’re the most trusted medical voice to your patients.
You may be the one person who can get someone to change their mind about
being vaccinated.
Tonight, I’m asking each of you to reach out to your unvaccinated
patients over the next two weeks and make a personal appeal to them to
get the shot. America needs your personal involvement in this critical
effort.
And my message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to
wait for? What more do you need to see? We’ve made vaccinations free,
safe, and convenient.
The vaccine has FDA approval. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at
least one shot.
We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal
has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing. But just don’t take
it from me; listen to the voices of unvaccinated Americans who are lying
in hospital beds, taking their final breaths, saying, “If only I had
gotten vaccinated.” “If only.”
It’s a tragedy. Please don’t let it become yours.
The second piece of my plan is continuing to protect the vaccinated.
For the vast majority of you who have gotten vaccinated, I understand
your anger at those who haven’t gotten vaccinated. I understand the
anxiety about getting a “breakthrough” case.
But as the science makes clear, if you’re fully vaccinated, you’re
highly protected from severe illness, even if you get COVID-19.
In fact, recent data indicates there is only one confirmed positive case
per 5,000 fully vaccinated Americans per day.
You’re as safe as possible, and we’re doing everything we can to keep it
that way -- keep it that way, keep you safe.
That’s where boosters come in -- the shots that give you even more
protection than after your second shot.
Now, I know there’s been some confusion about boosters. So, let me be
clear: Last month, our top government doctors announced an initial plan
for booster shots for vaccinated Americans. They believe that a booster
is likely to provide the highest level of protection yet.
Of course, the decision of which booster shots to give, when to start
them, and who will give them, will be left completely to the scientists
at the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control.
But while we wait, we’ve done our part. We’ve bought enough boosters --
enough booster shots -- and the distribution system is ready to
administer them.
As soon as they are authorized, those eligible will be able to get a
booster right away in tens of thousands of site across the -- sites
across the country for most Americans, at your nearby drug store, and
for free.
The third piece of my plan is keeping -- and maybe the most important --
is keeping our children safe and our schools open. For any parent, it
doesn’t matter how low the risk of any illness or accident is when it
comes to your child or grandchild. Trust me, I know.
So, let me speak to you directly. Let me speak to you directly to help
ease some of your worries.
It comes down to two separate categories: children ages 12 and older who
are eligible for a vaccine now, and children ages 11 and under who are
not are yet eligible.
The safest thing for your child 12 and older is to get them vaccinated.
They get vaccinated for a lot of things. That’s it. Get them vaccinated.
As with adults, almost all the serious COVID-19 cases we’re seeing among adolescents are in unvaccinated 12- to 17-year-olds -- an age group that
lags behind in vaccination rates.
So, parents, please get your teenager vaccinated.
What about children under the age of 12 who can’t get vaccinated yet?
Well, the best way for a parent to protect their child under the age of
12 starts at home. Every parent, every teen sibling, every caregiver
around them should be vaccinated.
Children have four times higher chance of getting hospitalized if they
live in a state with low vaccination rates rather than the states with
high vaccination rates.
Now, if you're a parent of a young child, you're wondering when will it
be -- when will it be -- the vaccine available for them. I strongly
support an independent scientific review for vaccine uses for children
under 12. We can't take shortcuts with that scientific work.
But I've made it clear I will do everything within my power to support
the FDA with any resource it needs to continue to do this as safely and
as quickly as possible, and our nation's top doctors are committed to
keeping the public at large updated on the process so parents can plan.
Now to the schools. We know that if schools follow the science and
implement the safety measures -- like testing, masking, adequate
ventilation systems that we provided the money for, social distancing,
and vaccinations -- then children can be safe from COVID-19 in schools.
Today, about 90 percent of school staff and teachers are vaccinated. We
should get that to 100 percent. My administration has already acquired teachers at the schools run by the Defense Department -- because I have
the authority as President in the federal system -- the Defense
Department and the Interior Department -- to get vaccinated. That's
authority I possess.
Tonight, I'm announcing that we’ll require all of nearly 300,000
educators in the federal paid program, Head Start program, must be
vaccinated as well to protect your youngest -- our youngest -- most
precious Americans and give parents the comfort.
And tonight, I'm calling on all governors to require vaccination for all teachers and staff. Some already have done so, but we need more to step up.
Vaccination requirements in schools are nothing new. They work. They're overwhelmingly supported by educators and their unions. And to all
school officials trying to do the right thing by our children: I'll
always be on your side.
Let me be blunt. My plan also takes on elected officials and states that
are undermining you and these lifesaving actions. Right now, local
school officials are trying to keep children safe in a pandemic while
their governor picks a fight with them and even threatens their salaries
or their jobs. Talk about bullying in schools. If they'll not help -- if
these governors won't help us beat the pandemic, I'll use my power as President to get them out of the way.
The Department of Education has already begun to take legal action
against states undermining protection that local school officials have ordered. Any teacher or school official whose pay is withheld for doing
the right thing, we will have that pay restored by the federal
government 100 percent. I promise you I will have your back.
The fourth piece of my plan is increasing testing and masking. From the
start, America has failed to do enough COVID-19 testing. In order to
better detect and control the Delta variant, I'm taking steps tonight to
make testing more available, more affordable, and more convenient. I’ll
use the Defense Production Act to increase production of rapid tests, including those that you can use at home.
While that production is ramping up, my administration has worked with
top retailers, like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger's, and tonight we're announcing that, no later than next week, each of these outlets will
start to sell at-home rapid test kits at cost for the next three months.
This is an immediate price reduction for at-home test kits for up to 35 percent reduction.
We’ll also expand -- expand free testing at 10,000 pharmacies around the country. And we'll commit -- we're committing $2 billion to purchase
nearly 300 million rapid tests for distribution to community health
centers, food banks, schools, so that every American, no matter their
income, can access free and convenient tests. This is important to
everyone, particularly for a parent or a child -- with a child not old
enough to be vaccinated. You'll be able to test them at home and test
those around them.
In addition to testing, we know masking helps stop the spread of
COVID-19. That's why when I came into office, I required masks for all
federal buildings and on federal lands, on airlines, and other modes of transportation.
Today -- tonight, I'm announcing that the Transportation Safety
Administration -- the TSA -- will double the fines on travelers that
refuse to mask. If you break the rules, be prepared to pay.
And, by the way, show some respect. The anger you see on television
toward flight attendants and others doing their job is wrong; it's ugly.
The fifth piece of my plan is protecting our economic recovery. Because
of our vaccination program and the American Rescue Plan, which we passed
early in my administration, we've had record job creation for a new administration, economic growth unmatched in 40 years. We cannot let unvaccinated do this progress -- undo it, turn it back.
So tonight, I'm announcing additional steps to strengthen our economic recovery. We'll be expanding COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan
programs. That's a program that's going to allow small businesses to
borrow up to $2 million from the current $500,000 to keep going if
COVID-19 impacts on their sales.
These low-interest, long-term loans require no repayment for two years
and be can used to hire and retain workers, purchase inventory, or even
pay down higher cost debt racked up since the pandemic began. I'll also
be taking additional steps to help small businesses stay afloat during
the pandemic.
Sixth, we're going to continue to improve the care of those who do get COVID-19. In early July, I announced the deployment of surge response
teams. These are teams comprised of experts from the Department of
Health and Human Services, the CDC, the Defense Department, and the
Federal Emergency Management Agency -- FEMA -- to areas in the country
that need help to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Since then, the federal government has deployed nearly 1,000 staff,
including doctors, nurses, paramedics, into 18 states. Today, I'm
announcing that the Defense Department will double the number of
military health teams that they'll deploy to help their fellow Americans
in hospitals around the country.
Additionally, we're increasing the availability of new medicines
recommended by real doctors, not conspir- -- conspiracy theorists. The monoclonal antibody treatments have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization by up to 70 percent for unvaccinated people at risk of developing sefe- -- severe disease.
We've already distributed 1.4 million courses of these treatments to
save lives and reduce the strain on hospitals. Tonight, I'm announcing
we will increase the average pace of shipment across the country of free monoclonal antibody treatments by another 50 percent.
Before I close, let me say this: Communities of color are
disproportionately impacted by this virus. And as we continue to battle COVID-19, we will ensure that equity continues to be at the center of
our response. We'll ensure that everyone is reached. My first
responsibility as President is to protect the American people and make
sure we have enough vaccine for every American, including enough
boosters for every American who’s approved to get one.
We also know this virus transcends borders. That's why, even as we
execute this plan at home, we need to continue fighting the virus
overseas, continue to be the arsenal of vaccines.
We're proud to have donated nearly 140 million vaccines over 90
countries, more than all other countries combined, including Europe,
China, and Russia combined. That's American leadership on a global
stage, and that's just the beginning.
We've also now started to ship another 500 million COVID vaccines --
Pfizer vaccines -- purchased to donate to 100 lower-income countries in
need of vaccines. And I'll be announcing additional steps to help the
rest of the world later this month.
As I recently released the key parts of my pandemic preparedness plan so
that America isn't caught flat-footed when a new pandemic comes again --
as it will -- next month, I'm also going to release the plan in greater detail.
So let me close with this: We have so- -- we've made so much progress
during the past seven months of this pandemic. The recent increases in vaccinations in August already are having an impact in some states where
case counts are dropping in recent days. Even so, we remain at a
critical moment, a critical time. We have the tools. Now we just have to
finish the job with truth, with science, with confidence, and together
as one nation.
Look, we're the United States of America. There's nothing -- not a
single thing -- we're unable to do if we do it together. So let's stay together.
God bless you all and all those who continue to serve on the frontlines
of this pandemic. And may God protect our troops.
Get vaccinated.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9976207/Read-Bidens-speech-ordering-new-COVID-19-vaccine-mandates.html
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