The politics of getting to the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic

The politics of getting to the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic

Transcript¹

With the omicron surge fading, the Biden administration is looking to the next phase of the pandemic.

"As a result of all this progress and the tools we now have, we are moving toward a time when COVID isn't a crisis, but is something we can protect against and treat," Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator², said Wednesday. "The president and our COVID team are actively³ planning for this future."

Americans are eager to get to that future. Recent surveys have shown that while people are still worried about the threat of the coronavirus, an equal or larger number are ready to move on.

But the Biden administration hasn't yet laid out a roadmap for how to do that. President Biden told NBC News last week he thought it was "probably premature⁴" that several Democratic governors were announcing the end to indoor mask mandates⁵.

That followed a similar statement from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but on Wednesday she signaled the agency is on the verge⁶ of announcing new guidance, including about masking.

"I think people are tired," said Kathleen Sebelius, a former health and human services secretary under former President Barack Obama and former governor of Kansas. "I mean, two years is a long time, and two years when you think it's about to be over, [and] no, it's not. ... [W]e are in much better shape, let me make it very clear, than we were in March of 2020. We are in much better condition to deal with whatever comes next. But people are tired of this, and nobody really knows what the new normal is going to look like exactly."

Politically, the pandemic has Biden in a precarious⁷ position. His prospects⁸ are tied to his administration's handling of COVID, and he was elected, in part, to help set the country on a better course in dealing⁹ with it than his predecessor¹⁰.

So it's in his interest to give Americans hope and show them a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. But Biden has already been burned by painting what turned out to be too rosy¹¹ a picture last summer. Then, he all but declared independence from the virus, only to be derailed by the rise of the deadly delta¹² variant¹³.

People need a "roadmap"

"Follow the science" has been a refrain from Democrats¹⁴ and the left, but there isn't unanimity¹⁵ among public health experts on when and how to get the country to the next phase.

Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor and University of Pennsylvania professor who has advised Democratic administrations on health care, including this one, said he agrees with Biden that the recent moves to get rid of indoor mask mandates are premature.

He said there's a difference between things "improving" and being "improved." Emanuel bases that on metrics, he said — facts like the 10,000 people a week still dying from COVID or the lack of space in many hospitals across the country.

But he's critical of how the Biden administration has communicated that to the American public.

"We do need more national, and more coherent, national guidance," Emanuel said, "and I think that is an imperative¹⁶. One of the things you hear from everybody now, it's the communication around COVID has been less than optimal¹⁷ from the start."

He said that public health and communication go hand-in-hand; it's not an "add-on."

"Part of being a doctor," Emanuel said, "is not just making the right diagnosis¹⁸, making the right treatment, but engaging the patient, so that they actually take the steps necessary to get healthy, because if I make the right diagnosis, I prescribe the right treatment and the patient doesn't take it, no one is better off."

He pointed¹⁹ out that people need a "roadmap" for when they'll be able to return to a sense of normalcy.

"The public wants to know you're not just freelancing it," Emanuel said, "that you're really following important metrics that are meaningful and you have thresholds, so that people understand these are very well-informed decisions, and they themselves can look at the data on various websites."

"It's where people are these days"

Sebelius, who said she is also in regular contact with the White House, agrees with the governors who have ditched mask mandates. She said she would have made the same decision, and part of that decision-making is understanding people's wants and needs.

"I think what you've seen is governors moving out ahead of the CDC on eliminating mask guidance," she said, "and in many ways, it makes good sense. It's where people are these days."

More than that, Sebelius noted²⁰ that governors are often more able to understand what's needed in their communities than the federal government and have more tailored policy initiatives.

"President Biden is looking at the country and trying to have a rule in place following science that looks out at the country," she said. "Individual governors have the ability to look at the borders of their states and say, if we're a highly vaccinated²¹, highly boosted state and some people are refusing to do that, people can make individual choices about their own health risk and wear a mask if they choose. But to force everybody to continue to wear a mask just doesn't make sense right now."

Especially in states with relatively²² high vaccination²³ rates, and for people who have followed the rules from the beginning — gotten vaccinated, gotten boosted — there is a growing frustration²⁴, Sebelius said.

"It is COVID fatigue²⁵ for those at the front of the line," she said, adding, "and it's like, 'Why should I continue to do that when there are clearly people who have never followed the rules and seemed to be still walking around?' "

The State of the Union address is coming up March 1, and it is an important moment for Biden in this pandemic. He has to thread a needle between appearing too cautious and being too quick to move on, like last summer.

"You don't have to do a fly-to-the-aircraft-carrier-in-your-jumpsuit, 'Mission Accomplished²⁶' kind of speech," Sebelius said, referring to former President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, "but I do think people need help, and they need a sense that the summer of 2022 will be better."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

5 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

6 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

7 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

11 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

13 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

16 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

17 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

18 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

19 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

20 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

21 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

22 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

23 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

24 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

25 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

26 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。