From News Nation:
“White House to host July 4
‘independence from virus’ bash”
President Joe Biden wants to
imbue Independence Day with new meaning this year by encouraging nationwide
celebrations to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months
of coronavirus pandemic disruption. Even as the U.S. is set to cross the grim
milestone of 600,000 deaths from the virus on Tuesday, the White House is
expressing growing certainty that July Fourth will serve as a breakthrough
moment in the nation’s recovery. That’s even though the U.S. is not expected to
quite reach its goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by the holiday. As
COVID-19 case rates and deaths drop to levels not seen since the first days of
the outbreak, travel picks up and schools and businesses reopen, Biden is
proclaiming “a summer of freedom” to celebrate Americans resuming their
pre-pandemic lives.
The holiday will see the largest
event yet of Biden’s presidency: He plans to host first responders, essential
workers and military servicemembers and their families on the South Lawn for a
cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall. Well more than 1,000
guests are expected, officials said, with final arrangements still to be sorted
out. The plan shows the dramatic shift in thinking since Biden just three
months ago cautiously held out hope that people might be able to hold small
cookouts by the Fourth, an idea that seems quaint now given the swift pace of
reopening. “By July the 4th, there’s a good chance you, your families and
friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood
and have a cookout and a barbeque and celebrate Independence Day,” Biden had
said as he marked the one-year anniversary of the pandemic on March 11. “That
doesn’t mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small
groups will be able to get together.”
For most Americans, that
reopening target was hit last month, by Memorial Day weekend, after the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed mask-wearing guidance for fully
vaccinated people and the accompanying relaxation in state and local virus
restrictions. Now, officials say July Fourth will serve as an unofficial
kickoff to a new phase in the U.S. pandemic response. The federal government is
looking to turn the page on the domestic public health crisis and focus on an
economic and civic revival at home and marshaling support for vaccinations
around the globe. Across the country, the White House is hoping to see the
similar Independence Day activities, after last year saw the mass cancellation
of July Fourth festivities, according to two White House officials who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to outline the administration’s thinking. “We
welcome you to join us by hosting your own events to honor our freedom, salute
those who have been serving on the frontlines, and celebrate our progress in
fighting this pandemic,” the White House wrote in an email to state and local
officials Tuesday. It asked them to share their plans to be highlighted later
by the administration. In Washington, the National Mall will host the
traditional fireworks ceremony, the White house said. “America is headed into a
summer dramatically different from last year,” the administration wrote to
officials. “A summer of freedom. A summer of joy. A summer of reunions and
celebrations.”
The upbeat announcement contrasts
with the drearier reality in Europe, where Biden is on an eight-day,
three-country tour — not to mention much of the rest of the world where
vaccines remain scarce. Instead of having a mission accomplished moment, in
Britain, one of the few countries that has a vaccination rate similar to the
U.S., the government announced Monday it plans to further delay reopening for
at least another month to try to get more people vaccinated. But cases there,
unlike the U.S., are rising, and not all adults have been offered a vaccine
yet, nor have children. While in Europe, Biden and Group of Seven allies
announced plans to provide 1 billion shots for poorer nations, half of them
from the U.S., but aid groups said a far greater commitment is needed to defeat
the virus around the globe. Still, the U.S. vaccination campaign is far from
over as rates slip. Fewer than 370,000 Americans are now getting their first
dose on average each day, down from a high of nearly 2 million per day two
months ago. White House officials acknowledged that there are still deep
geographic disparities in vaccination and that the administration will continue
to remind Americans that if they are not vaccinated they remain at risk of
serious illness and death from the virus.
All American adults have been
eligible for shots for two months, and the administration has mounted an
aggressive “month of action” to try to drive up demand for doses, though that
has done little to change the trend lines: Fewer Americans are interested in
getting vaccinated. Officials say the effects of the July 4 vaccination goal of
70% of Americans on driving down COVID-19 cases are already being felt even if
the benchmark won’t be attained. Some 166.5 million adults have received at
least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. To reach his goal,
Biden would need to vaccinate about 14 million more in less than three weeks. “Regardless
of where we are on July Fourth, we’re not shutting down shop,” White House
press secretary Jen Psaki said last week. “On July 5th, we’re going to continue
to press to vaccinate more people across the country.” The Democratic president
intends to use his remarks on July Fourth to highlight the administration’s “wartime
response,” with a vaccination campaign that helped bring cases and deaths down
by about 90% from where they were before he took office on Jan. 20.
^ There is no reason that the 4th
of July 2021 be cancelled anywhere in the United States. With a very small
exception the only people who will die of Covid now are those people that
decide not to get the Covid Vaccine. That is their right, but it is also our right
to get the Vaccine and to go back to our normal, pre-Pandemic lives. It is good
to see Biden even see that and to continue with the National 4th of July
Celebrations. Covid-19 is one of the very few things Biden seems able to get
right or to even tackle. ^
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