Biden Commemorates 1M Lives Lost to COVID, Urges Congress to Act
Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images
On Thursday, the White House hosted the second Global COVID Summit, a virtual gathering of prominent leaders, government organizations and private companies. The subject matter was somber - Biden paid tribute to the one million American lives lost due to COVID-19.
He commended the progress the country has made in fighting COVID-19, but pointed out that there is still a long way to go.
“There’s still so much left to do. This pandemic isn’t over,” Biden said. “Today, we mark a tragic milestone here in the United States: 1 million COVID deaths. One million empty chairs around the family dinner table.”
Biden went on to assert that because of the high death toll, the country must increase its efforts against the pandemic.
“With thousands still dying every day, now is the time for us to act. All of us, together. We all must do more," he said.
Biden called for an increase in the number of vaccinations and boosters across the country, as well as expanded access to testing and treatment. He said the summit is an opportunity for the nation as a whole to “put our foot on the gas” to both get the pandemic under control and prevent future health crises.
To do this, Biden announced that the United States will begin sharing “critical COVID-19 technologies” through the World Health Organization COVID-19 Technology Access Pool. This includes stabilized spike protein, which is used in several COVID vaccines.
“We’re starting up a new pilot program working with a global fund to expand access to rapid testing and antiviral testing for people in harder to reach areas. And we’re increasing our support for a new pandemic preparedness and global health security fund that will be established at the World Bank this summer, with $450 million in seed funding.”
Biden commended Indonesia and Italy in particular for their help in securing the seed fund. He also encouraged Congress to approve more emergency funding to improve his administration’s COVID prevention and treatment efforts. This, in part, is likely due to the current state of COVID boosters. As BioSpace previously reported, boosters only last about four months and provide limited efficacy for vaccinated people.
Toward the end of Biden’s remarks, he urged leaders across the world to join him in fighting to eradicate the pandemic:
“I encourage every leader to ask yourself, what more can I do? How can we work more closely together to help more people? How can we save more lives?”
To commemorate the one million lives lost due to COVID-19, Biden has ordered the White House flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.