:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SLPFQOLSSV3L4SHCX3HJSHYS2I.jpg)
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/cb1219c1-cfa7-44eb-a8f7-aae300bbb987.png)
As Joe Biden marked his 50th day as president, he delivered his first primetime TV address on Thursday.
Speaking from the White House, in front of a red-carpeted hall lined with flags, the president opened with the words that so many presidents have spoken: "My fellow Americans . . . Tonight I'd like to talk to you... " he said in a sombre tone.
But this time, the address was not about a foreign war, or an economic crisis. Instead it was about the Covid-19 pandemic, as Biden marked a year since it shut down America.
“While it was different for everyone, we all lost something. A collective suffering. A collective sacrifice. A year filled with the loss of life – and the loss of living for all of us.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7VEAO4COQNDRS5427BSMINGQ5I.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/N7KA4KQUNOWJVJOFJGQU37HNHY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SYBQ5F2GJ6IFLH5VX4LBNSOSAE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZRUKCDFHN32NSI6ALMSVCLR4BE.jpg)
At one point he took from his pocket a note with the latest number of lives lost to the pandemic. It’s something he does every day, he says, to remind himself of the true cost of the pandemic.
On Thursday, the number had reached 527,726 – “They were husbands, wives, sons and daughters, grandparents, friends, neighbours – young and old. They leave behind loved ones unable to truly grieve or to heal, even to have a funeral.”
But the president also brought a message of hope. All adults aged over 18 will be eligible for a vaccine by May 1st, he said, pledging to launch a new system to help those who need vaccines to find them. By Independence Day on July 4th, small groups will be able to get together, he predicted.
Beaten expectations
One year on from the onset of the crisis in the US, America is beginning to turn a corner. Like Britain, its vaccine strategy has beaten expectations even though it suffered one of the highest case levels and death tolls in the world.
About 19 per cent of the US population has now received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 10 per cent has been fully vaccinated.
With America powering ahead with distribution of the three approved vaccines, there is the possibility the AstraZeneca jabs won't be needed if approved
The US is now administering about 2.2 million doses a day, with Biden ordering an extra 100 million doses from Johnson & Johnson this week. Each state is administering the rollout of the free vaccines, with mass vaccination centres open around the country. But demand is still outstripping supply as eligible adults desperately search for available slots through their local provider.
Nonetheless, the acceleration of the vaccine rollout is a huge win for Biden politically. He campaigned on a promise to deal with the Covid crisis. Some Republicans have accused him, not without reason, of taking full credit for a programme that was already in train when he took office.
Donald trump
A piqued Donald Trump issued a statement this week reminding America of his Operation Warp Speed initiative. "I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the Covid-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot'," he said.
Questions are now being asked about America's willingness to share some of its surplus vaccines with Europe. In particular, millions of AstraZeneca doses are sitting in factories in Ohio and Maryland.
The US, like Britain, was quick off the mark on procurement and investment, signing a public-private partnership agreement with AstraZeneca last May, which included a $1.2 billion investment in development and manufacturing. But the company has run into difficulty with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), which has demanded more US-based clinical trial data before it can approve it.
Powering ahead
With America powering ahead with distribution of the three approved vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – there is now the possibility that the AstraZeneca jabs won't be needed if approved. Headlines from Europe questioning its efficacy may also make the vaccine less palatable to Americans.
This week, for the first time, Biden said he will share vaccines with the rest of the world if there is a surplus but insisted he would make sure “Americans are taken care of first”. There have been reports that an initial approach by the EU for the vaccines has been rebuffed. One complicating factor is that AstraZeneca may seek liability protection for doses sent overseas.
The issue may be raised at next Wednesday's meeting between Biden and the Taoiseach. But Europe may find that it is not necessarily at the top of the queue. America's neighbour, Canada, is also experiencing vaccine shortages, as well as Brazil. Deciding who is most deserving of the US's extra vaccines may well be the next big issue in the vaccine nationalism debate.