Biden declares the pandemic over. People are acting like it too
Biden declares the pandemic over. People are acting like it too - CNNPolitics, politics
0 Comments
, 2022-09-19 17:28:00,
On some other topics there was some equivocation.
Biden interviews are rare
To say that Biden rarely grants wide-ranging interviews is an understatement.
The US leader often talks to reporters but almost never holds news conferences or conducts long interviews.
That makes his interview, conducted last week and aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” worth poring over and we could have dedicated an entire newsletter to any of the above topics.
The White House felt the need to make clear, on the pandemic and on China and Taiwan, that Biden’s words did not equal a policy change.
Given how emphatically Biden declared the pandemic over, let’s look at that one.
How over is the pandemic?
“The pandemic is over,” Biden told Scott Pelley of CBS as they walked around the Detroit Auto Show last week. “We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. … But the pandemic is over.”
He added, motioning around to the floor of the auto show: “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”
More work to do
Biden is right that there is more work to do. His administration is seeking additional money from Congress to help with vaccine development among other things and Biden’s declaration could chip away at a remaining urgency among lawmakers.
“If it’s over, then I wouldn’t suspect they need any more money,” Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican and member of the party leadership, told CNN’s Manu Raju.
Vaccines, in addition to booster shots, may not completely stop infection, but…
,
To read the original article, go to Click here