Biden’s coronavirus success threatened by political divisions he pledged to heal
LA TimesSince President Biden took office, he’s talked about two goals more than any others — ending the COVID-19 pandemic to ignite a jobs boom, and uniting a politically divided country. “Vaccines can save your own life, but they can also save your grandmother’s life, your co-worker’s life, the grocery store clerk, or the delivery person helping you and your neighbors get through the crisis,” Biden said last week. “He’s absolutely changed the course of the pandemic response in a fundamental way,” said Howard Koh, a Harvard professor who served as assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama. “I have no doubt that we’d be heading back toward a lockdown.” Biden inherited three vaccines that were successfully developed under Trump’s watch, then turned the country into an inoculation powerhouse. “Instead of just talking about it, they really need to start going into the communities.” Jeff Zients, who leads Biden’s COVID-19 task force, acknowledged the issue with vaccine hesitancy.