White House signals next era in COVID with sweeping new strategy

CHEYENNE HASLETT

The White House on Wednesday released a sweeping new 96-page plan on COVID, marking a new era in the pandemic in which the virus is still circulating but can hopefully be managed so that Americans can return to daily life without disruption.

The strategy, that President Joe Biden previewed Tuesday night in his State of the Union address, calls for making available more free rapid tests online starting next week, as well as setting up pharmacy clinics later this month that will hand out free antiviral pills to people who test positive.

The plan also promises the ability to mass produce 1 billion doses of vaccine each year so that a new formula can be delivered within 100 days in the event of an aggressive new variant. The administration also vows to continue its efforts to provide vaccinations globally to help prevent future mutations.

"We are not going to just 'live with COVID,'" states the new strategy called the "National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan."

"Because of our work, we are no longer going to let COVID-19 dictate how we live," it adds.

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