Maybe President Biden should handle COVID-19 the way he’s handled Afghanistan.
It’s a strange thought, given how badly he botched the US withdrawal. But at least Afghanistan Joe had a clear idea about what we needed to do. COVID Joe has no such exit strategy. He’s making it up as he goes.
In his address unveiling his COVID plan, Biden failed to offer anything like an exit strategy or even a description of what victory might look like.
In fairness, one reason he didn’t is because he can’t. As with terrorism, permanent and total victory is impossible. As Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, explains: “SARS-CoV-2 will become an endemic virus settling alongside the other four strains of coronaviruses that circulate widely among us.”
In February, nine out of 10 leading immunologists, virologists and other experts surveyed by the British scientific journal Nature said it’s here to stay.
Part of Biden’s problem is that he already had his “mission accomplished” moment in July. And while it’s not his fault that the Delta variant wrecked his victory lap — and his poll numbers on his handling of the pandemic — his response is clearly improvised, probably counterproductive, and very, very political.
Last week, Biden issued a sweeping mandate that all private businesses with 100 or more employees require workers to get vaccinated or receive a weekly coronavirus test. The mere fact that the administration is using a nebulous and constitutionally problematic authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act suggests that it essentially rummaged around to find a power it didn’t think it had or would need.
Biden relishes this fight. He’s already achieved one of his goals — to change the subject from handing Afghanistan to the Taliban in time for the anniversary of 9/11. But the other political calculation is that he doesn’t need the support of people ideologically (and foolishly) opposed to getting vaccinated, but he does need the support of those who despise such people.
“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,” the president of vaccinated America declared.
Lord knows the bulk of the media loves to focus on that story.
What gets less attention is that there’s also an irrational constituency addicted to COVID panic, scapegoating and fearmongering.
The most pro-vaccine voters and voices are often the most pro-mask, pro-school closure and pro-shutdown. This is the only way to make sense of Biden’s rationale for the mandate: “We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated coworkers.”
By his own account, the vaccinated are generally safe from severe illness even with breakthrough infections — that’s why people should get vaccinated!
By pandering on vaccination, Biden isn’t dialing down the culture-war dynamic of the pandemic, he’s intensifying it. Once, he was on the side of constitutional and democratic norms; now, he’s waving those aside.
Worse, he’s sending the signal to many of those most fed up with the pandemic that this will never end. That “never exit” message may seem smart politically, but it doesn’t encourage steadfastness or compliance. It fosters exhaustion and ever more polarization.