Nearly 1 million people have died from the new crown, and the United States faces multiple challenges in dealing with the new crown

　　Restoring public trust and providing funds to fight the epidemic...The United States faces multiple challenges in dealing with the new crown

　　International war "epidemic" operation

　　The US "Capitol Hill" website pointed out in a report on March 12 that nearly 1 million people in the United States have died from the new crown epidemic. Although the number of confirmed cases has dropped sharply, there are still multiple challenges to deal with the new crown epidemic: including rebuilding the public Trust in health institutions, provide a steady stream of funds to fight the epidemic, vaccinate children under the age of 5, and prepare for the next epidemic.

　　regain public trust

　　Americans’ trust in public health officials and agencies, especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has waned since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts say it will take a tremendous amount of effort for these institutions to regain the public's trust.

　　George Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said: "Regaining trust is much harder than losing it. It's easy to lose trust, but it's hard to regain trust. The CDC has some work to do."

　　US President Biden announced at the White House on January 21 a national strategy to deal with the new crown epidemic, setting seven goals, of which "restoring the trust of the American public" was listed first.

Experts also said that during the ravages of the new crown epidemic, people's trust in public health institutions is crucial, and without this trust, anti-epidemic measures such as wearing masks and vaccinations will not be successful.

　　An NBC poll in January found that only 44 percent of respondents said they trusted the CDC when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus.

Experts pointed out that the reason for this phenomenon is that in the previous anti-epidemic process, the United States had made some mistakes, including political interference, information confusion, and the constantly changing epidemic prevention measures given by the CDC.

　　continue to provide funding

　　It is reported that in the past two years, the U.S. Congress has allocated more than $370 billion to the federal Department of Health and Human Services to respond to the new crown epidemic. Most of the funds were issued to medical institutions and medical personnel, and about $140 billion was used for new crown testing, treatment and vaccine.

All the money has now been spent or taken.

　　According to a recent report by The New York Times, a budget chart previously provided to Congress by the Biden administration, obtained by the newspaper, shows that the United States currently has zero remaining funds under items such as new crown testing, treatment and vaccines.

　　In addition, on March 8, the U.S. House of Representatives cut off the $15.6 billion epidemic prevention budget requested by the Biden administration for epidemic relief. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the decision on the same day was "heartbreaking".

House Democrats are aiming to vote next week on a stand-alone bill that would fund the White House's request, but it's unlikely to pass the Senate as Republicans insist the full payment is needed.

　　White House press secretary Jan Psaki said: "If Congress does not provide additional monetary support, the consequences will be dire."

　　In March, coronavirus testing capacity will decline; in April, the uninsured fund that provides testing and treatment services for tens of millions of Americans without health insurance will be exhausted; in May, the supply of monoclonal antibodies in the United States will be exhausted; 9 This month, the U.S. will run out of antiviral drugs such as Pfizer's highly potent Paclove.

　　Vaccination for children under 5 years old

　　There are approximately 18 million children under the age of 5 in the United States.

According to Reuters, the U.S. government had planned to start vaccinating children of this age against the new crown on February 21.

However, on February 11, the CDC said that it had postponed the launch of the Pfizer's new crown vaccine plan for children under 5 years old, because it was found that two doses of the vaccine were less effective in protecting the Omicron variant. Pfizer said it needed more data to do make a decision.

　　Previous data from Pfizer showed that two doses of the ultra-low-dose COVID-19 vaccine are safe for children under 5 years old and provide good protection for 6-month-old infants, but insufficient protection for children 2 to 4 years old.

As a result, Pfizer began a trial of three doses of the vaccine for children under 5, and the trial has not yet been completed.

Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Barra said recently that data on the third dose of the vaccine is still weeks away and is expected to be released in early April.

　　"We discussed the possibility of the two-dose data because we knew the second dose wouldn't work very well, but at least we could start vaccinating the kids, and then a third dose would prove the vaccine," Bola said. effectiveness."

　　But given that the overall risk to children has decreased with the decline in Omicron cases, the U.S. has decided to delay vaccinating children under the age of 5 until data on all three doses of the vaccine are available.

　　And experts say the best way to keep young children safe is to get everyone around them vaccinated against the virus, but with fewer precautions, younger children will be at increased risk of contracting the virus.