Is It Time To Investigate Biden's Handling Of COVID?

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   Sharlee01posted 2 years ago

   
   
   Today, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and fellow Republican House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., called for a joint hearing into President Biden’s "failed" COVID-19 pandemic response.
   
   A letter was sent  to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., calling for a joint committee hearing to "conduct legitimate oversight of the Biden Administration."
   
   Scalise and Comer pointed out that Clyburn had promised a hearing into the "totality of the current response" by the current administration and torched Biden’s first year in office as "one full of broken promises."
   
   "He promised to ‘shut down the virus,’" the Republicans wrote in the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News. "He promised ‘by next Christmas [2021]…I think that there’ll be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced [and] have to wear masks…’ He promised to ‘improve the availability of tests."
   
   "He promised to not ‘demand that [the vaccine] be mandatory,’" the letter continued. "And he promised he had a national plan to ‘get this virus under control.’ He failed on all accounts."
   
   The conservative lawmakers wrote that the subcommittee "was formed under the auspices ensuring the ‘efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of the COVID-19 response" also pointing out that the "unsuccessful and unscientific response of the Biden Administration has thus far been shielded from legitimate oversight."
   
   "Democrats’ failure to conduct real oversight of the Biden Administration’s woefully inept response to the ongoing pandemic is unequivocally a dereliction of duty," they wrote.
   
   The lawmakers delved into the three issues that "have epitomized the failures of the Biden Administration," such as the lack of at-home COVID tests, the president’s "abandonment" of his national pandemic response, and "politicizing the vaccine and undermining science."
   
   "Overall, the Biden Administration has made the damaging decision to mandate the vaccines over everything else," the letter reads. "They have not paid enough attention to testing and have downplayed natural immunity and alternative therapies."
   
   Biden Had a plan --- Vaccinating the Unvaccinated; Further Protecting the Vaccinated; Keeping Schools Safely Open; Increasing Testing & Requiring Masking; Protecting Our Economic Recovery; Improving Care for those with
   COVID-19.    Source   https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/
   
   Looks like Biden has been called on the carpet. It is obvious he made promises, that have not been kept. COVID has not been shut down, and over the past weeks showed a record break number of Omicron infections, and a real shortage of testing supplies as well as over-the-counter test kits. W have a serious shortage of healthcare workers in many states, and Biden also stated he would alleviate that problem. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo … e-omicron/
   
   And, should Biden have ever made the off-the-cuff and cavalierly promise that he would  "shut down the virus? 
   
   Any thoughts on

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      Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      As always a day late and a dollar short... Jan 15, 2022
      
      Biden White House will roll out of COVID tests expected to ship 'within 7-12 days of ordering'---  Really buck short Joe?
      
      The Biden administration is facing backlash over the rollout of COVID tests being made available to every American household, with critics saying its efforts are too little, too late.
      
      The White House announced Friday that 500 million rapid at-home tests will be available for ordering online beginning Jan. 19 for free. The two requirements upon ordering is a name and a residential mailing address. Up to four tests can be ordered per household on a government website.
      
      However, the White House's admission of when Americans might actually receive the COVID tests is garnering attention.
      
      "Tests will typically ship through the mail within 7-12 days of ordering, and be delivered First Class through the U.S. Postal Service," the White House tweeted."
      
      "Critics mocked the Biden administration's timeline for the COVID tests as some medical experts predicted the omicron wave of cases will subside by the end of the month. "
      
      "'7-12 days after requested' is a very long timeline for shipping these tests," said CNN correspondent Abby Phillip."
      
      "This is great, by the time people actually get their tests the Omicron wave will be over," City Journal contributing editor Charles Fain Lehman tweeted. "
      
      "Think you may have COVID? The geniuses in the Biden admin will get you a test after you’ve already recovered!" said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel"
      
      "What’s the opposite of Operation Warp Speed?" said Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross."
      
      "So, even assuming that this website doesn't have an Obamacare-style crash upon rollout, the tests should reach your house just in time for the omicron wave to already be over," said National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin. "
      
      Seems Joe was just too busy promoting BBB and his Voter Act bill to note a big super spreader new mutation of COVID was headed our way.  He is waisting more cash on tests that most likely will be tossed out due to lack of need, or exp.  And actually, many Docs have been reporting the test does always pick up Omicron. I mean could this be any more ridiculous? Maybe he should work on helping get much-needed therapeutic to help with this huge surge of Omicron cases. I guess we might see those in July...
      
      I wonder if he has realized he has lost his talking point and will need to address all the BIG problems that are infuriating American's?

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      Castlepalomaposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Let Biden talk as much as humanly possible.
      The more he talks and makes things up
      The more Covid handling get exposure to the most outrageous and redicilous health model ever made up in the history of humans.
      
      Sorry slow Joe, you got to go.

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   Valeantposted 2 years ago

   I think an investigation would be fun.  They could subpoena Fox News hosts and ask them why they have run programming in direct contradiction to the CDC's public health guidelines designed to stop the virus.  GOP Governors would be next.
   
   There's plenty of blame to go around, but you rarely acknowledge your own party's role in their work against their own government and their fellow Americans.

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      Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      
      Speaking about the CDC  ---   Biden, and CDC  give divided on message over N95 masks for all.
      
      Once again nothing but confusion. Is Biden trying to further milk COVID due to all the other fires that are closing in on his administration?
      
      Why N95 now, when science shows we now have a mutated weaker mutation of the killer COVID? This mutated strain is clearly less of a
      killer,  and maybe COVIDS last hoorah! 
      
      "WASHINGTON — As Covid-19 cases have surged, top Biden administration officials have been divided over how strongly to encourage Americans to wear high-filtration masks such as N95 respirators, as they have come under increasing pressure from public health experts to urge people to switch to masks that offer better protection.
      
      NBC News ---  President Joe Biden said in remarks Thursday that he was planning to take some action to make "high-quality masks" available for free, but administration officials didn’t give further details, and those who have been involved in talks over what to do around the issue of N95 masks were caught off guard by his statement, one person involved in those conversations said.
      
      As cases and hospitalizations have surged due to the highly-contagious omicron variant, public health officials have criticized the administration for not doing more to encourage Americans to wear N95 or KN95 masks, which they said could significantly reduce the transmission compared to cloth masks. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week it is working to update its mask recommendations, its current guidelines updated Oct. 25 still include the wearing of a well-fitting cloth mask as an option.
      
      Inside the White House, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has been among those pushing for more widespread distribution of the N95 masks, including mailing one to every American, the person involved in the conversations said.
      
      Inside the White House, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has been among those pushing for more widespread distribution of the N95 masks, including mailing one to every American, the person involved in the conversations said.
      
      But others, including CDC officials, have pushed back on the idea of a mass distribution of N95 masks, and would rather see the agency strengthen its mask recommendation to tell people to wear a surgical mask instead of a cloth mask, the person said.
      
      When asked about the current recommendations during a White House Covid briefing Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the agency was planning to update the information about masks on its website “to best reflect the options that are available to people … and the different levels of protection different masks provide,” but she didn’t indicate a significant change was coming.
      
      “CDC continues to recommend that any mask is better than no mask, and we do encourage all Americans to wear a well-fitting mask to protect themselves and prevent the spread of Covid-19, and that recommendation is not going to change,” she said.
      
      The issue marks the latest point of division for Biden's top health officials. Last month, Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, appeared to contradict updated guidelines from the CDC that said infected people could leave isolation after five days without a negative Covid test. There was disagreement over the summer over how widely booster shots should be made available and when with Biden's top medical advisers breaking with career Food and Drug Administration officials."  https://www.aol.com/news/biden-official … 00830.html
      
      Seems to me the CDC is no longer willing to be willing to push a political over science. Oh well Joe, looks like they can get in line with those that have jumped ship.

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         Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Bidens Free Stuff
         
         It is being reported that insurance companies are not in any respect prepared to take claims on  Biden's Free COVID Test Extravaganza give away... Seems Old Joe forgot to tell us about this little problem.
         
         "Some health insurers say they will have trouble adapting to a new federal rule from the Biden administration requiring them to cover the costs of 8 at-home tests per month.
         
         The rule, which takes effect this Saturday, requires private insurers to cover the costs of in-home tests but a New York Times report this week says that many insurers aren’t in a position to meet those requirements in the short term.
         
         Insurers are saying it could take weeks to set up a proper system and pointing to the fact that over-the-counter tests are different from doctors visits and hospital stays that are typically covered.
         
         The tests reportedly don’t have the type of billing codes needed for insurance to process claims and because health plans rarely process retail receipts it will force insurers to handle the cases manually at first.
         
         "This is taking things back to the olden days, where you’ll have a person throwing all these paper slips in a shoe box, and eventually stuffing it into an envelope and sending it off to a health insurer to decipher," Ceci Connolly, president and C.E.O. of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, told the New York Times."
         
         Hey Ceci Connolly --- have Ya had a look-see at the guy you are dealing with? 
         
         ""There will be some people who buy them, and then have a six-month nightmare trying to get reimbursed," Jenny Chumbley Hogue, a Texas-based insurance broker, said about the rule adding that she has not yet seen a plan as to how the guidance will be handled.
         
         Biden on Thursday directed health officials to purchase an additional 500 million COVID-19 tests to distribute to Americans for free, as the nation battles the surge in cases of the highly-transmissible omicron variant.
         
         During remarks on his administration's strategy to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the president announced the additional 500 million tests – on top of the half a billion tests that his administration already has "in the process" of shipping to homes "for free."
         
         Does Biden continually promise things that he has no way of accomplishing? It would seem he either has poor aids or aids that have as little sense as him.
         
         By the time these free kits get in the hands of the public, Omicron will be pretty much over.
         

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         IslandBitesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Why N95 now, when science shows we now have a mutated weaker mutation of the killer COVID? This mutated strain is clearly less of a
         killer,  and maybe COVIDS last hoorah!
         
         Why now? Maybe because Omicron is way more contagious? Maybe because there are still a lot of people dying? Maybe because you dont have to die to be hospitalized and hospitals are full? Maybe because you dont have to be in a hospital to be sick and at home without being able to work? Maybe because you dont have to be sick, or even positive to quarantene at home if you were exposed? Maybe because all of the above is affecting the economy and the normal functioning of the country? I wonder.

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            Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Way more contagious, yes. But thus far it is less apt to send one to the hospital. The infectious rate is enormous, yet hospitals are not overrun in most states, and those that are hospitalized have shorter stays. My point is, why not support N95 masks very early on when they could have stopped the deaths we were having?
            
            And now you see the importance of being back to work quickly, and normal function of society.  Your ideology would have been acceptable in my view at the very start of the pandemic.  I mean just think if we did the right thing in regards to wearing a truly protective mask we could have cut down on spread as well as death.    My gosh, we were told to wear ineffective masks... 
            
            "Maybe because you dont have to be sick, or even positive to quarantene at home if you were exposed? "
            
            Maybe we never had to. I realize the problems we had early on in the pandemic with PPE.  I worked in the early months, we wore our N95  5 times, when we knew they were only to be worn once.
            
            But, there is no excuse that in the following month's citizens could not have been supplied better masks.
            
            Hey, the given meant can send you an N95, and hopefully, they will advise citizens to toss it after a couple of wears. Then you're on your own.
            
            This new mask recommendation is a political ploy in my view.
            
            "But others, including CDC officials, have pushed back on the idea of a mass distribution of N95 masks, and would rather see the agency strengthen its mask recommendation to tell people to wear a surgical mask instead of a cloth mask, the person said."
            
            You will need to take your view up with the CDC.
            
            I say too little too late.

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         Valeantposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         I make a post noting that there is more culpability than just Biden, and on cue, you divert to more attacks on Biden.  Thank you for validating my point that you cannot recognize anyone's fault in the continued spread of the virus but Biden's Administration.

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            Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            This thread was created to discuss Biden --  Today, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and fellow Republican House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., called for a joint hearing into President Biden’s "failed" COVID-19 pandemic response.
            
            The conversation needs to include what Biden is doing and not doing in his response to COVID.
            
            Not sure why you feel my post deflect? They are in regard to what Biden is doing presently in response to COVID. A few of the actions he has taken currently.
            
            It would seem you deflected to Fox News --
            
            "I think an investigation would be fun.  They could subpoena Fox News hosts and ask them why they have run programming in direct contradiction to the CDC's public health guidelines designed to stop the virus.  GOP Governors would be next.
            
            There's plenty of blame to go around, but you rarely acknowledge your own party's role in their work against their own government and their fellow Americans."
            
            Fox News is not our President and has no power to handle problems to help solve problems. And in regard to the GOP, yes they do have the power to do something. Hence they have called for a  hearing into President Biden’s "failed" COVID-19 pandemic response.
            
            I would suppose a committee could then call anyone to talk about what has been done or not been done. They could offer a timeline, what the administration did when, and did they follow up on many things that have been promised over the last many months.
            
            As could you if you feel you want to. 
            
            The media seems to have no interest any longer defending Biden's lack of actions in regard to COVID.
            
            He did get the stimulus out quickly. And one really can't blame him for those that refused to be vaccinated.
            
            But some of the really important things he could have done slipped through the cracks.
            
            We are at a true shortage of therapeutic medications, and monoclonal antibodies treatments. He will most likely need to deal with this, and quickly. Really the masks and even the tests are not a huge problem. But meds --- Oh my that's a big old problem.

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               Fayetteville Fayeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Right now, I see that the therapeutics are  just for patients at the highest risk of developing severe COVID-19 illness. For example, people with weakened immune systems, including transplant patients and older adults, who are  especially vulnerable. So many of the hundreds of thousands of people testing positive for the coronavirus daily would not be candidates for the treatments.
               
               It seems that we will likely be in the same position with the therapeutics as we have been with the testing. Meaning far too many people testing and retesting  needlessly. We will predictably see younger, healthy and asymptomatic people looking to needlessly obtain these therapeutics. Not everyone who gets the virus will need the treatment. Experts say that young, healthy people will likely be able to get by on their own with generally mild cases.   In my opinion they should first  be allocated to hospitals in order to reduce the burden on our overworked medical system.
               
               I've  also read that State health departments will  get to decide which clinics, hospitals, local health departments and pharmacies will receive shipments, and then they can be shipped out. So again our experience with getting these therapeutics will depend highly on where you live.  I don't expect or want  President Biden or anyone at the federal level to micromanage each state's distribution.
               
               In Indiana, for example, Paxlovid will go only to designated hospitals and molunpiravir will go only to designated pharmacies. But in Ohio both drugs will go to providers already set up to administer monoclonal antibodies. I'm sure we will see 50 different plans for 50 different states.
               
               You already know this, but Dr. Helen Boucher, interim dean of Tufts Medical School, points out that these pills are not a replacement for getting vaccinated. "None of these therapies that we're talking about, whether it's antibodies, remdesivir or the pills, are anywhere near as effective as vaccination," she says.

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                  Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  I should have been more specific, the shortages are being felt in the hospitals. Non-symptomatic or people with mild symptoms as a rule don't need any form of medication, other than over-the-counter cold meds. Although some even though mildly sick have comorbidities that should be given therapeutics that help stave off serious complications and hospitalization.  Most hospitals are rationing treatments and therapeutics.
                  
                  All is not as simple as Google presents it.
                  https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2 … cron-rages
                  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/busi … icron.html
                  https://fox5sandiego.com/news/coronavir … reatments/
                  https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/monoc … erapeutics
                  https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/trends/ats_trends/
                  https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines. … therapies/
                  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/busi … icron.html
                  https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/13/cas … hospitals/
                  https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/07/on- … e-options/
                  Way back in August the shortages began to be a problem
                  https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/newe … erapeutics
                  https://www.freep.com/story/news/health … 940907002/
                  
                  And no therapeutics are not a replacement for the vaccine. They are needed in hospitals to save lives. This is where we see the shortage.
                  
                  This should have never happened. Our Government knew that Delta was a serious mutation, as well as they knew Omicron would spread more rapidly, and require therapeutics.  The Federal Government needed to step in and use the Defense Production Act, as Biden did with last week's forest kits... Which seems to be the most ridiculous thing he has done yet, should have done it many months ago. As he should have with to prevent this dangerous medication shortage. That's my opinion, and it is clear lives are being possibly lost, or at best put in jeopardy.
                  
                  I get my news from people that work in hospitals, doctors, and nurses that daily work in a couple of the largest hospitals in Michigan. At this point, I have been told by Doctors that are personal friends that they are forced now to play God, picking and choosing who gets what by sheer viability. Viability is an ugly word when it comes to health care.
                  https://www.michiganradio.org/2021-12-2 … oses-of-it

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                     Fayetteville Fayeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                     Maybe I'm misunderstanding the use and prioritization of these therapeutics.  I did as thorough of a read as possible but with all of the technical language it's a tough one. 
                     https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines. … therapies/
                     
                     https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines. … anagement/
                     
                     One of my takeaways from the first document:
                     
                     "These anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics are of greatest benefit for nonhospitalized patients who have risk factors for progression to severe COVID-19. " I'm understanding that this is to keep people from being hospitalized and overburdening the medical system.
                     
                     I feel like, with many things, There is a disconnect between what the best medical or scientific advice is and what actually gets implemented across individual states. 
                     I have some concern with these therapeutics being misused or squandered just as tests seem to have been in some circumstances.
                     Florida needlessly let 1 million of their covid tests expire. But additionally we have people out here testing like it's drinking water. Case in point, I have a close friend who tested four times within the span of 5 days only to receive a positive result on the 5th day. That incessant testing was needless since she had already taken precautions as if she were positive on the first day. It's sort of crazy.  It would be unfortunate to see these therapeutics similarly misused. But in the end it all depends on who has control of them in the end.
                     
                     At least two states are recommending that doctors prioritize the limited supply of monoclonal antibody treatments for high-risk COVID-19 patients, including unvaccinated people who face severe disease.
                     
                     Tennessee health officials say that nearly all vaccinated patients should receive lower priority to preserve supplies for those who remain most vulnerable, while those in Alabama say treatments should go to those who are most likely to be hospitalized.
                     
                     In recent months, 70% of the country’s supply has gone to seven states: Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. All but Florida have below-average COVID-19 vaccination rates, NBC News reported.

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                        Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                        Any and all COVID therapeutics at this point should be alligated to those that can be helped in the hospital.   The antiviral meds and the Monoclonal are helpful in the first days of COVID/Omicron. These meds cut down on hospital stays, and symptoms  worsening. I don't feel at this juncture the Monoclonal infusions should be used prophylactically. These treatments are needed for the folks that are more symptomatic.
                        
                        In my view, they should not be pushed in lieu of vaccines, with a shortage problem going on in hospitals.

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   Valeantposted 2 years ago

   Well, at least you acknowledge Biden is not the only culpable person regarding Covid.  As for the monoclonals, I'd argue a low supply is motivation for people to get vaccinated.  We have the vaccines in large supply and they achieve the same thing - lessening your chance of death. 
   
   Do you not see the hypocrisy of the argument that is made?  People don't trust a new vaccine.  Yet, they have no problem taking monoclonals for this specific virus that have only existed for the same amount of time. 
   
   As to your answer to Scalise's inquiry, is it time?  The simple answer is no since they do not have control of either chamber of Congress.  But even if they did, there is plenty of culpability to go around for the deaths this year among the other parties I listed.  So while you want to continue to keep your blinders on and focus only on Biden, and he certainly deserves some of the criticism, I can think of at least three others who share in the reasons for extending the pandemic and the continued deaths.

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      Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Again I was concerned about hospital shortages. I don't feel monoclonal should be used as a prophylactic measure due to not wanting to take the vaccine. At least not while we have such a shortage. I do think it should be given to someone prophylactically that have serious comorbidities and perhaps due to health problems can't take the vaccine.
      
      I have read that some states feel the Biden Adm. has stopped the supply to their states due to them using it as a replacement for the vaccine.
      
      "The simple answer is no since they do not have control of either chamber of Congress"
      
      I agree, it would be a futile venture at this point. Ultimately Biden is the President and the blame needs to be shouldered by him.  I truely blame many others for the problems we are having.  I actually feel Biden listened to the wrong people, as I have always said Trump did.
      
      Maybe an investigation could help us learn what was done wrong from the very first day our Government had knowledge of the virus. I agree there is lots of blame to go around, in reality, both presidents needed to trust many others to make decisions.

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         Valeantposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         I could get behind a Covid Commission that covers it from the first warnings to when we finally get a grip on it that covers both administrations to see what went wrong and what worked.  Because let's face it, this won't be the last time this happens.

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            Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            I do agree. We need to look into it from day one. American's deserve answers, and we also need to know what is being done to prevent something like this from happening again, or at best how this kind of crisis could be better handled.

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   Kathleen Cochranposted 2 years ago

   No. It's a damned sight better than his predecessor.

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      Castlepalomaposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      https://agnostic.com/group/PoliticsInfo … ost-photos
      
      Trump is the poster boy for the intellectgent in design. When are people goings to wake up,  those two evils, don't make a human right.

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