President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP)
During his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, March 1, U.S. President Joe Biden made some lofty promises. Among them was the announcement that anyone who tests positive for covid-19 will soon be able to get free antiviral pills from Walgreens, CVS, Kroger and other pharmacies and health centers across the country.
“We’re launching the ‘Test to Treat’ initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they prove positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost,” Biden said.
Biden noted that pharmaceutical company Pfizer had worked “overtime” to get the country 1 million antiviral pills, officially called Paxlovid, and would be producing more in the coming weeks.
“We’ll continue to combat the virus as we do with other diseases and because this virus mutates and spreads, we have to stay on guard,” Biden said. “We are also ready with antiviral treatments. If you get covid-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90 percent. I’ve ordered more pills than anyone in the world has.”
In addition to the antiviral pills, Biden said his administration would provide “treatments and free high-quality masks” for people who are immunocompromised. He added that people could also order more at-home covid tests by going online to covidtests.gov starting next week.
Biden’s remarks come as covid-19 cases have plummeted to their lowest levels since the omicron variant spiked in 2021. The president touched on changes on mask guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Under the new guidelines most Americans and most of the country can now go mask-free and based on projections, more of the country will reach that point across the next couple of weeks,” Biden said.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?
Though he acknowledged covid-19’s ability to mutate, Biden said the U.S. is in a much better position to prepare for new variants. “I can’t promise a new variant won’t come but I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does,” Biden said.
Biden noted it was “time for America to get back to work” and “our kids need to be in school.”
Along with the work being done at home, Biden said the U.S. would continue to support other nations across the globe in their efforts to get their populations vaccinated to fight covid.
He also encouraged Americans to unify in the face of the virus and its deadly fallout.
“We’ve lost so much in covid-19 — time with one another but worst of all, the loss of life. Let’s use this moment to reset,” Biden said. “So stop looking at covid as a partisan dividing line. See it for what it is: a god-awful disease. Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are – fellow Americans,” Biden said in his State of the Union Address.
PHOTO: President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP)
