WASHINGTON (AP) – The latest on President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion (always local) coronavirus relief package:
8:15 p.m.
President Joe Biden condemns the violence that Asian Americans have suffered since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, saying “it’s wrong, it’s anti-American and it needs to stop.”
Biden laments an increase in reports of “vicious” attacks and harassment against Asian Americans that were reported since the beginning of the pandemic a year ago.
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly used xenophobic terms to refer to the virus that originated in the Chinese province of Wuhan. Some critics say the former president’s language has provoked violence against Asian Americans.
Biden addresses the nation on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic.
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20:05 h
President Joe Biden delivers a smile but optimistic message on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking of a lectern on a backdrop bannered in the East Room of the White House, Biden reflects on the worst public health crisis in more than a century. It has killed nearly 530,000 Americans, made millions more sick and devastated the world economy.
Biden says, “We all lost something, a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice.”
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18:40 h
President Joe Biden is scheduled to announce Thursday in his prime time speech that he will deploy an additional 4,000 U.S. troops to support coronavirus vaccination efforts. It is also greatly expanding the group of people eligible to serve as vaccinators.
This is according to a senior administration official who informed reporters before Biden’s address to the nation. The official says the president will also announce plans to double the number of pharmacies participating in the vaccination program, expand mobile operations to vaccinate people in communities that have been hard hit by the virus, and double the number of mass vaccination centers administered in federal level.
There are currently 2,000 active-duty troops supporting vaccination across the country.
The official says the White House plans to detail plans Friday to expand who can administer gunfire. Dentists, health professionals, nurses, veterinarians and medical students will be eligible to administer vaccines under the new guidance.
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6:30 p.m.
President Joe Biden will use his first speech in the early hours of Thursday night to announce that he is directing states to ensure that all American adults meet the requirements for the coronavirus vaccine no later than 1 p.m. of May.
This is according to two senior administration officials who reported to reporters ahead of Biden’s afternoon speech on the pandemic’s one-year anniversary. Officials say the president will also say there is a good chance the Americans will be able to meet safely in small groups before July 4th.
Biden is also expected to “the fight is far from over.” But he will say the nation will be in a “much better place” during the Independence Day holidays if Americans wear masks, follow public health guidelines, and get vaccinated when it’s their turn. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to keep the focus on the president’s address.