“I know we’re all frustrated,” Biden said on Thursday. That frustration has been evident in recent weeks as the nation wonders just what it will take to bring the coronavirus to heel.
“It’s been a long road,” Biden said in his remarks from the White House, for which he was joined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The president said he would be sending military teams to six states experiencing surges in hospitalizations. He also said his administration would purchase 500 million more rapid diagnostic tests, which schools and other institutions need in order to stay open.
Indeed, the president seemed far more animated in recent days talking about the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and the need to protect democracy than he did in offering all-too-familiar advice about the safety of vaccines and efficacy of masks. Biden said he would be sending military teams to six states experiencing surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations.