Saturday, February 27, 2021

A Letter on the Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

 

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TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
 
 
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.  In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, beginning March 1, 2020, concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is to continue in effect beyond March 1, 2021.

There remains a need to continue this national emergency.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation.  More than 500,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government.

Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
 
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 24, 2021.

Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

 

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February 24, 2021

NOTICE
 
- - - - - - -
 
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONCERNING THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) PANDEMIC
     On March 13, 2020, by Proclamation 9994, the President declared a national emergency concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation.

     For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 13, 2020, and beginning March 1, 2020, must continue in effect beyond March 1, 2021.  Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

     This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
 
                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 24, 2021.

Statement by President Joe Biden on Emergency Use Authorization of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2021
 
Statement by President Joe Biden on Emergency Use Authorization of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

Today, after a rigorous, open, and objective scientific review process, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for a third safe and effective vaccine to help us defeat the COVID-19 pandemic — the Janssen COVID-19 (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine. This is exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis.
 
We know that the more people get vaccinated, the faster we will overcome the virus, get back to our friends and loved ones, and get our economy back on track. Thanks to the brilliance of our scientists, the resilience of our people, and the eagerness of Americans in every community to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting vaccinated, we are moving in the right direction. I look forward to speaking more about today’s news and updating the American people on our progress this coming week.
 
But I want to be clear: this fight is far from over. Though we celebrate today’s news, I urge all Americans — keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, and keep wearing masks. As I have said many times, things are still likely to get worse again as new variants spread, and the current improvement could reverse. My Administration will not make the mistake of taking this threat lightly, or just assuming the best: that’s why we need the American Rescue Plan to keep this fight going in the months ahead.
 
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable. We must continue to remain vigilant, act fast and aggressively, and look out for one another — that is how we are going to reach that light together.
 

Letter to the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate Consistent with the War Powers Resolution

 

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February 27, 2021

 
Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
 
At my direction, on February 25, 2021, United States forces conducted a targeted military strike against infrastructure in eastern Syria used by Iran-supported non-state militia groups. 
 
Those non-state militia groups were involved in recent attacks against United States and Coalition personnel in Iraq, including the February 15, 2021, attack in Erbil, Iraq, which wounded one United States service member, wounded four United States contractors, including one critically, and killed one Filipino contractor.  These groups are also engaged in ongoing planning for future such attacks.
 
In response, I directed this military action to protect and defend our personnel and our partners against these attacks and future such attacks.  The United States always stands ready to take necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, including when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located is unwilling or unable to prevent the use of its territory by non-state militia groups responsible for such attacks. 
 
I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct United States foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.  The United States took this action pursuant to the United States' inherent right of self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. 
 
I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148).  I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.
 

Sincerely,
 

 JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

 

February 24, 2021 Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2021
 
Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials
Via Teleconference 
11:03 A.M. EST
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Thank you for joining us.  I want to begin by acknowledging that we have passed a grim milestone in this pandemic: Half a million people dead from COVID-19.  This pandemic has touched each of us.  So many have lost loved ones.  We’ve been separated from our friends and families.  Too many of our businesses and schools have been closed for way too long.
 
President Biden is clear: We are at war with this virus, and we’re using every resource at our disposal to defeat it. 
 
We’re keeping equity at the front and center of our response, partnering with states, tribes, and territories to increase vaccinations in the hardest-hit and hardest-to-reach communities -- increasing supply to convenient and trusted locations, like community health centers; deploying mobile units to meet people where they are; and improving data collection so that we have a better understanding of the inequities currently experienced.
 
Today we’re announcing another action we’re taking to ensure an equitable response.  In the month of March, we will begin to deliver millions of masks to food banks and community health centers around the country.  These are nationwide networks that serve populations hit hard by the pandemic.  While masks are widely available in many different shapes and sizes,
many low-income Americans still lack affordable access to this basic protection.  That’s why we’re taking this important action to keep Americans safe.
 
We will deliver more than 25 million masks across the country.  These masks will be available at more than 1,300 community health centers and at 60,000 food pantries nationwide.  Any American who needs a mask will be able to walk into these health centers or food pantries and pick up high-quality, American-made masks.  These masks will be available at no cost.  They’ll be well-fitting cloth masks available in children’s and adult sizes, and they can be washed for reuse -- all consistent with CDC guidance, and all made in the USA.
 
Once again, our decisions here have been made with equity at the center.  Not all Americans are wearing masks regularly.  Not all Americans have access.  And not all masks are equal.  With this action, we are helping to level the playing field, giving vulnerable populations quality, well-fitting masks.
 
When President Biden delivered his inaugural address, he made a very clear request to the country: Mask up.  And he’s taken action to require masks in federal buildings, on federal lands, and on public transportation, like planes, trains, and buses.
 
The action we’re announcing today is a targeted step to help Americans respond to the President’s challenge to mask up to protect themselves and their fellow Americans.
 
As we encourage people to continue to mask up, we’re focused on vaccinating people quickly and equitably. 
 
Today, I will give you the latest update on our execution on vaccinations in the three key areas that we’re focused on: more vaccine supply, more vaccinators, and more places to get vaccinated.
 
First, on vaccine supply: Yesterday, we announced the fifth consecutive week of supply increases to states, tribes, and territories, from 8.6 million doses when we took office to 14.5 million doses this week.  That’s an increase in vaccine allocations to states of nearly 70 percent during the Biden-Harris administration.
 
The Retail Pharmacy Program we launched a few weeks ago has performed well so far.  And this week, we will increase the allocation to pharmacies to 2.1 million doses. 
 
So, with 14.5 million doses allocated to states, tribes, and territories and 2.1 million through the federal Retail Pharmacy Program, we’ve nearly doubled weekly supply of doses in just five weeks.
 
Second, we’re mobilizing teams to get shots in arms.  We’ve deployed over 800 federal personnel as vaccinators.  And the federal government is now funding 1,200 National Guard members to serve as vaccinators.  We’ve also deployed 1,000 federal personnel to support community vaccination sites in operational and support roles.
 
Third, we continue creating more places where Americans can get vaccinated.  We’ve now expanded financial support to bolster community vaccination centers nationwide, with over $3.6 billion in FEMA funding to 44 states, tribes, and territories for vaccination efforts.  We’re bringing vaccinations to places communities know and trust: community centers, high school gyms, churches, and stadiums nationwide.
 
And we continue to work with states to set up innovative, high-volume, federally run sites that can each give over 30,000 shots a week.  These sites are up and running in California and are ramping up in Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
 
We’ve also launched federal programs to get vaccines to pharmacies and local community health centers.  As we’ve always said, we’re committed to providing clarity on our progress, and that includes when we hit bumps in the road.
 
Last week, we got hit with the very severe weather, which impacted the vaccination supply chain -- from manufacturing, to shipping, to the ability to get shots in arms.  The manufacturers, the shipping firms, the states, the tribes, the territories, and pharmacies worked to overcome these challenges.
 
And despite all the temporary weather-related delays, our seven-day average daily doses administered is at 1.4 million.  And we’ve already caught up on the weather-related shipping backlog.
 
Teams worked throughout last weekend to pack and ship doses.  On Monday, yesterday, 7 million doses -- two days ago -- 7 million doses were delivered.  That, coupled with the 14.5 million doses allocated this week, results in record supply going to the states.  We’ve encouraged states to get needles into arms by extending vaccine clinic hours, offering services 24 hours a day where possible, adding weekend appointments, and having more staff on hand.
 
On this point, I want to stress that if states do not have the staff to work around the clock and on the weekends, the federal government stands ready to help. 
 
I also want to spend a couple minutes on our plans for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is currently pending approval for emergency use authorization by the FDA.  Yesterday, I again updated and reviewed with our nation’s governors our plans to distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine if the EUA is granted. 
The governors are carefully planning their efforts and getting ready for the possible new vaccine.  If authorized, we are ready to roll out this vaccine without delay.  Our distribution approach will mirror the current allocations process across jurisdictions, pharmacies, and community health centers.
 
If an EUA is issued, we anticipate allocating 3 to 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week.  Johnson & Johnson has announced it aims to deliver a total of 20 million doses by the end of March.  We’re working with the company to accelerate the pace and timeframe by which they deliver the full 100 million doses, which is required by contract by the end of June.
 
While we await the FDA's decision, we want the American people to know that we're doing the work so that if the EUA is granted, we will waste no time getting this lifesaving vaccine into the arms of Americans.
 
With that, let me turn it over to Dr. Walensky to talk about the state of the pandemic.
 
Dr. Walensky.
 
DR. WALENSKY:  Thank you, Jeff.  I'm again delighted to be with you today. 
 
We continue to see trends heading in the right direction.  In the past week, average daily cases declined 25 percent to approximately 64,000 cases per day.  This is slightly less than the summer peak of 67,000 daily cases reported last July.  While this is good news, cases still remain high, and we continue to watch these data closely. 
 
We also see continued declines in new hospital admissions for the most recent week.  An average of 6,500 patients with COVID-19 were admitted per day, a decrease of 16 percent from the week prior.  The number of reported deaths is also dropping with a seven-day average of slightly less than 2,000 per day.  This represents a 35 percent decline compared to the prior week.
 
On Monday, I announced that we were kicking off our three-day National COVID-19 Vaccine Forum, and since that time, we've had an extraordinary few days.
 
Our final tally -- we've virtually assembled over 12,000 participants from across the United States, representing state, tribe, local, and territorial governments, private sector partners, medical and public health institutions, community-based organizations, faith-based groups, and educators, among others.
 
The discussions and presentations from over 100 speakers showcased promising practices and critical scientific information for those involved in vaccination efforts in communities across the nation. 
 
I'd like to share a few examples of what we've learned over the last three days. 
 
First, trust and community confidence are cornerstones of our national vaccine efforts.  Trusted voices are critical to building confidence in vaccines and addressing misinformation.  Our community leaders are often those trusted voices. 
 
We heard from national, state, and local health leaders about communication and public education campaigns they are deploying to combat myths and disinformation, and instill confidence and interest in COVID-19 vaccines, as well as tools and strategies healthcare providers can use when talking with their patients about COVID-19 vaccination. 
 
For example, we learned about a new communications campaign in New Orleans that is grounded in the local flavor and culture as a way to resonate with the city's residents.
 
Second, one of the most powerful benefits of the forum was learning about on-the-ground experiences and new innovations to expand vaccination efforts.  We heard about creative ways providers and volunteers have been getting vaccinations into communities using boats, ferries, and snowmobiles in Alaska; leveraging emergency medical services to provide vaccinations to homebound individuals in Indiana; and using awareness campaigns, featuring trusted elders and healthcare workers, in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
 
Finally, forum sessions taught us that every person, community, faith-based organization, governmental and non-governmental partner, and business has a role to stop -- to play in supporting our nation's COVID-19 vaccination strategy.
 
We learned about faith-based efforts, like the outreach to people of color being led by the Metropolitan International [Interdenominational] Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where faith ambassadors engage with local clergy to help spread accurate information on COVID-19 vaccines to these high-risk communities.
 
We also heard about successful public-private partnerships, like in San Diego, where vaccination "super sites," like the one in Petco Park Stadium, are vaccinating thousands of people a day; and in Colorado, where there is a government-private partnership -- the Champions for Vaccine Equity task force -- where the health department and 10 medical Champions of color are working with and through community-based organizations to create opportunities for listening and sharing information about COVID-19 vaccines.
 
These are just a few of many practical innovations and solutions shared during the forum.  And I want to let you know that all of these sessions, as well as resources and materials, will be posted on the CDC website following the forum.  I encourage you to check it out when you're able.
 
Next, I would like to take a moment to highlight the progress made so far in our efforts to rapidly expand and open sequencing nationally, including through our $200 million investment announced last week.  This work is more important than ever, given the continued spread of COVID-19 variants in the United States. 
 
As of February 23rd, we now have identified nearly 1,900 cases of B117 variant in 45 states, 46 cases of B1351 variant in 14 states, and 5 cases of the P1 variant in four states.
 
The pace of our genomic sequencing has scaled up from about 400 samples a week, when I started as CDC Director, to now more than 9,000 samples as of the week of February 20th. 
 
We are continuing to increase this pace with our state public health and private lab partners with a goal of 25,000 samples per week in the coming weeks. 
 
The increased volume of sequence information is helping us to better understand the diversity of variants circulating in the United States, where they are located, and how they are spread.  With the samples in hand, we can then scientifically examine how variants impact vaccines and therapeutics moving forward.
 
Finally, I want to say that we are proud to be partners in the announcement made today about sending masks to underserved and vulnerable populations.  One of the most impactful things we can do is wear a mask, and this is so important during this critical period where cases are declining but variants that spread more easily are increasing throughout our country.
 
CDC continues to recommend that everyone two years of age or older wear a mask when in public and around others in the home not living with you. 
 
The mask you should wear should have two or more layers, completely cover your nose and mouth, and fit snugly against your nose and the sides of your face.  It's essential that you wear your mask correctly and that it fits well in order to get the most protection. 
 
By wearing masks in combination with social distancing, washing your hands, avoiding crowds and travel, and getting vaccinated when it's available, we can bring an end to this pandemic.
 
Thank you.  I, of course, look forward to your questions, but I'll first turn things over to Dr. Fauci.
 
Dr. Fauci.
 
DR. FAUCI:  Thank you very much, Dr. Walensky.  What I'd like to do over the next couple of minutes is just update you on an important component of the spectrum of COVID-19 disease. 
 
If I can have the first slide.
 
Many of you are now aware of what had long been called "long COVID."  But actually, what that really is is post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which we're now referring to as "PASC," or P-A-S-C. 
 
The reason I'm bringing it up with you today will become apparent in just a minute or two.  Just to refresh your memory, the symptoms of this include fatigue, shortness of breath, sleep disorders, fevers, GI symptoms, anxiety and depression, and what some have been referring to as brain fog, or an inability or a difficulty in concentrating or focusing. 
 
Remember, these are post-acute sequelae -- after the virus essentially has been cleared from the body.  And actually, new symptoms sometimes arise well after the time of infection, or they evolve over time and they may persist, as I'll get to in a moment, for months and can range from mild annoying to actually quite incapacitating.  The magnitude of the problem is not yet fully known.
 
Next.
 
There have been a number of papers that have described in some detail large cohorts.  Here is one from China, which was published online on January 8th, in more than 1,700 patients who actually had been hospitalized.  I point out that you can get this post-acute syndrome even in individuals who did not require hospitalization.  The six-month follow-up showed a variety of signs and symptoms, shown here, with many having fatigue and weakness -- as I mentioned on the prior slide -- sleep difficulties, anxiety or depression.  And the greater proportion of patients with more severe illness had impaired lung diffusion capacity. 
 
Next.
 
Most recently, in a study from the University of Washington that appeared just a few days ago, it was found really now something alarming: that approximately 30 percent of the patients who are enrolled at the University of Washington reported persistent symptoms for as long as nine months after illness.  Fatigue was the most common reported symptom, and persistent symptoms were reported by one third of outpatients with mild disease. 
 
Next slide. 
 
What we did -- “we” being an interagency group: the NIH, the CDC, and others -- put together a workshop in Rockville, just a little bit north of Washington, D.C., on December the 3rd and the 4th of last year, in which we looked at various organ systems and brought in experts in all of these areas -- cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, neurologic, immunologic, and pediatrics -- to scope out the kinds of things that we would need to be looking at with this puzzling syndrome. 
 
Now, the reason I'm bringing it up at this press conference -- next slide -- is that just yesterday, on February the 23rd, the NIH launched a new initiative to study this PASC, or post-acute sequelae.  Now, looking back a bit in December of last year, the Congress provided $1.15 billion in funding over four years for the NIH to support research looking into this.  And I'm happy to say that yesterday there was the first in what will be a series of research opportunity announcements released for NIH initiative on this puzzling syndrome. 
 
The research studies will be looking at SARS-CoV-2 recovery cohorts, some that are already established and some that will be established.  They'll be looking at large data banks from resources, such as electronic health records and health symptoms.  And they'll be studying a number of biological specimens.
 
And finally, on the last slide, there are selected questions that this initiative hopes to answer, and they are important:
 
  • What does the spectrum of recovery from this infection look like across all the entire population -- young individuals, middle-aged, elderly? 
  • How many people continue to have symptoms of COVID-19 or even, as we've seen, develop new symptoms that they did not have even as part of their acute infection? 
  • Importantly, what is the underlying biological cause of these prolonged symptoms?  We refer to that as pathogenesis. 
  • What makes certain people vulnerable, while others recover fully and quickly and have no sequelae? 
  • And finally, does SARS-CoV-2 infection trigger changes in the body that actually increase the risk, later on, of such abnormalities, such as chronic heart or brain disorders? 
 
A lot of important questions that are now unanswered that we hope, with this series of initiatives, we will ultimately answer. 
 
So I'll stop there and hand it back to Jeff. 
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Well, thank you, Doctors Fauci and Walensky.  Why don't -- why don't we open it up for questions.
 
     MODERATOR:  First we'll go to Meg Tirrel at CNBC.
 
     Q    Hi.  Thanks so much.  Just a follow-up, Dr. Fauci.  And then I've got another couple questions, one for Dr. Walensky and then one for all of you.  
 
On long COVID, I wonder if you could tell us just a little bit more about -- and it's early, but what the epidemic of PASC or long COVID might look like even beyond the pandemic, and how worried you are about that.  And if you're, you know, seeing any early work going on in trying to develop sort of therapeutics or other ways of addressing it. 
 
And I wondered for Dr. Walensky, on the masks: A lot of people are so excited about this announcement.  I wondered how you decided on cloth masks -- if you considered or are considering N95s at all, even though we know that there is, you know, constrained supply of those.
 
And then, finally, just a question on the vaccines in general and the plan going forward.  You know, with J&J potentially coming out next week, we also know AstraZeneca will have U.S. phase three data in a few weeks, and Novavax has said Q2 it’ll plan to file and could have 110 million doses in the third quarter.  It seems like we're going to have a glut of vaccines, potentially, later this year, which is a great situation, but what is the plan for all of these different vaccines if they do succeed?
 
DR. FAUCI:  Okay, thank you, Meg.  I'll take the first question related to this syndrome.  A very important question about what we can do about it, and that's the reason why we are creating these cohorts and we're looking at what might possibly be hints at pathogenesis. 
 
It's very difficult to treat something when you don't know what the target of the treatment is.  And that's the reason why it's extremely important to take a look at these individuals, not only the scope of this and not only, you know, the depth and breadth of the symptoms, but also to try and have some correlate that actually is the pathophysiological correlate. 
 
Once we get that, an important part of this, as I mentioned, would be to design therapeutic approaches, hopefully by medications that we already have.  We just need to know how to use them.
 
DR. WALENSKY:  And maybe I'll chime in and just discuss the -- the CDC guidance now is to wear cloth masks.  The distribution of these masks, which we are also super enthusiastic about, is intended to ensure that both the source and the receiver are wearing a mask that’s compliant with the CDC guidance, that is comfortable, easy to wear, and when worn will prevent infection.  And we believe these masks will do so.
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Why don’t I handle, Meg, your question on vaccines?  And we do not want to get ahead of FDA decision-making here on any of the vaccines that have not been yet approved. 
 
But on J&J, obviously the prospect of a potential third approved vaccine is very encouraging and will help to increase the overall vaccine supply, which will allow more Americans to get access to a vac- -- to getting vaccinated sooner. 
 
Keep in mind that the J&J contract is to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June, but we're working to accelerate that delivery schedule.  And I think the thing you will hear from our doctors and from President Biden is: As soon as it is your turn to get a vaccine, get vaccinated.
 
Next question.
 
MODERATOR:  Next we'll go to Ricardo at the Associated Press.
 
Q    Hi, thank you for taking my question.  And Jeff Zients mentioned that you're caught up for weather-related delays on shipping.  However, if we look at the CDC information on vaccinations, vaccinations are still down markedly from before the weather.  And so my question to you is, what is your timetable for getting caught up on actual shots in arms?  And where do you think the level has to be?  And then, finally, even before the weather hit, we were seeing a leveling off in first doses.  What explains that?  And does it concern you?
 
MR. ZIENTS:  So, you know, I showed the data that we averaged 1.4 million per day last week, which was down from 1.7.  Prior to that, each week it was going up.  I think in the most recent day-to-day information, there's a little bit of a lag effect, so you're seeing the lag of the weekend weather and the weekend overall. 
 
We anticipate that the rate of vaccinations will increase markedly this week, given that all that supply did arrive over the weekend and on Monday, and that we've increased the weekly allocation to states, tribes, and territories up to 14.5 million -- which is up 70 percent from the 8.6 where we started five weeks ago -- and that the pharmacy program is now being allocated to 2.1 million. 
 
So I think and hope that you will see a market increase in the vaccination rate given that the weather issues are largely behind us and absent any other type of weather or unexpected event.
 
MODERATOR:  Next, we'll go to Jeremy Diamond at CNN.
 
Q    Hey, thanks for doing this.  A couple of questions. First, on the issue of vaccines: Jeff, you said today that about 3 to 4 million doses will be available to be shipped out, if and when an EUA is granted.  Yesterday, I believe you told governors it would be 2 million doses.  So could you explain that discrepancy? 
 
And then also, how do you believe that the arrival of this vaccine, if in fact it is approved, will affect the President's goal of 100 million shots in 100 days?  Do you expect to increase that goal? 
 
And then, just lastly on the question of the mask shipments, I'm wondering how much it is costing the administration to ship these masks.  And, you know, at this point, given that Americans who want to wear a mask largely aren't having trouble actually finding masks, what's the rationale behind this?  And are there -- you know, how does this help solve the problem of mask hesitancy, which seems to be one of the bigger issues here? 
 
Thank you.
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Okay.  That was -- that was a lot at once.   You'll have to help me here as we go along.  But I think my exact language yesterday was “around 2 million” to the governors.  It might end up being a little more than that, but remember we also allocate to pharmacies and to community health centers.  So that’s the primary delta -- or difference, if you will, between around 2 million and 3 to 4 million.
 
Your next question was that -- around the 100 million goal. That goal, when we set it, was an ambitious goal.  Many people talked about one that we would have real trouble reaching.  So far, we are pacing ahead of that goal.  The President pushes us every day to figure out everything we can do as a whole-of-government effort partnering with governors, local health officials, and others to do all we can to vaccinate as many Americans as fast, efficiently, and as, importantly, equitably as possible.  So we view the 100 million shots in 100 days as a floor, and we, you know, intend to exceed that goal.
 
On masks, the cost will be $86 million.  And we really believe that this policy makes a lot of sense in that it allows, you know, people who are not able to, in some situations, find or afford a mask, to get a mask.  And it's part of our equity strategy and central to that.
 
MODERATOR:  Next, we'll go to Sharon LaFraniere at New York Times.
 
Q    Thanks for taking my question.  So, J&J was supposed to have 12 million doses by the end of the month and 37 [million] by the end of March.  Instead, it's going to be under 4 million and 20 million.  Can you tell us what exactly happened to cause these delays?
 
Secondly, how confident are you that Pfizer and Moderna are going to be able to deliver the full 220 million doses that they've promised by the end of next month?
 
And then, finally, if you could address: To what degree is the vaccination program really hobbled by lack of sites and vaccinators?  Isn't lack of supply the principal obstacle?
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Just to start with the beginning: I think, to date, we have been -- as we've ramped up the number of places, the number of vaccinators, that supply has been, as you suggest, the primary constraint.
 
On J&J -- you know, when we got here five weeks ago we learned that J&J was behind on manufacturing, and our team has been working with them since.  And, yeah, I think they're in a better place now.  We've helped them with equipment and raw materials, which I think is helping to increase greater capacity and accelerate. 
 
The contract, as you stated, is to deliver 100 million by the end of June.  The initial production ramp -- you gave the data -- was slower than we'd like, so we will continue to work with the company to accelerate that ramp. 
 
And I would refer, you know, you to J&J for any more specifics.  But I think it was disappointing when we arrived.  I think the progress is real.  And we look forward to continuing to work with the company to accelerate their delivery and their capacity.
 
On Moderna and Pfizer, as you know, we've done a lot to help both companies with their manufacturing processes.  We're in touch with them all the time -- daily, hourly -- to make sure that we're doing anything we can to help them and to monitor their production.  And I think, just yesterday, they articulated that they are on schedule -- Moderna -- to deliver the 100 million doses by the end of March.
 
And, as you know, the President visited Pfizer last Friday, and the Pfizer CEO reassured the President that they're doing everything they can to accelerate production and that they will deliver 120 million doses by the end of March and 200 million doses by the end of May.
 
Next question.
 
MODERATOR:  Last question, and we're going to make it really quick.  Josh Wingrove with Bloomberg.
 
Q    Hi there, and thank you for taking the time.  Can you speak a little bit about, first, the mask decision?  It was deliberated whether to send them to all Americans.  Can you talk a little bit about that sort of decision?  Was it -- was that just, sort of, too big an undertaking?  You get more, sort of, impact to send it more targeted?
 
And can I ask: Specifically, do you think the allocations are going to change if you do get a third approval?  In other words, will governors still get a similar share of the stream, or will expanded vaccinations sort of help you change the math a little bit and open up some other streams? 
 
Thank you.
 
MR. ZIENTS:  Yes.  So let me do the second question about allocation.  We talked to the governors yesterday as part of their preparation, and we're talking to the pharmacies and the community health centers, our federal partners about the allocation being -- mirroring the current allocation.  So the same percentage is going through each channel.
 
You know, across time, we'll monitor channels, make sure channels are performing in two ways: efficiency and also fairness and equity, so future allocations across channels could be changed based on performance.  But we're starting -- if the FDA does approve Johnson & Johnson as our third effective vaccine, it'll be distributed along the same lines as our current percentages. 
 
You know, months ago, sending a mask to every American would have been a good idea.  Today, masks are widely available in many different shapes and sizes.  Yet, still, not all Americans are wearing masks regularly, and not all masks are equal.  Many Americans need access to a mask that provides effective protection in line with the CDC guidance that Rochelle articulated. 
 
So this plan of sending masks to community health centers and to food pantries is an effort that focuses on people who may be particularly in need of the extra support to stay safe and to meet the President's mask challenge of masking up for the first 100 days. 
 
So with that, I just want to thank everybody for joining.  And we look forward to Friday's session.  Thank you.
 
11:38 A.M. EST

February 24, 2021 FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Deliver Masks to Communities Hit Hard by the Pandemic

 

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February 24, 2021

FACT SHEET:
President Biden Announces New Actions to Deliver Masks to Communities Hit Hard by the Pandemic

As part of his National Strategy to defeat COVID-19, President Biden announced a new effort to make masks more easily available to communities hard hit by the pandemic. The Administration will deliver more than 25 million masks to over 1,300 Community Health Centers across the country as well as 60,000 food pantries and soup kitchens, reaching some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends mask wearing as a critical step to help slow the spread and protect people from getting COVID-19, but many low-income Americans still lack access to this basic protection.
 
Today, President Biden is announcing that, over the next few weeks, the Biden-Harris Administration will:
 
Deliver masks to community health centers. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD), will deliver millions of masks to Federally Qualified Community Health Centers across the country. These approximately 1,300 health centers will be eligible to receive high-quality masks for free. Two-thirds of the people served by Community Health Centers are living in poverty, 60% are racial and/or ethnic minorities, and nearly 1.4 million are unhoused. Anyone in the community will be eligible to pick up masks from their local Community Health Center. Recipients will be encouraged to take an individually wrapped package of two masks for each person in their household. The staff of the Community Health Centers will distribute the masks to recipients.
 
Distribute masks through the nation’s food bank and food pantry system. The Department of Defense (DOD), working with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), will deliver masks to many of the nation’s roughly 300 food banks. These food banks reach a vast network of 60,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, and other food distribution points where masks will be distributed to individuals and families. Recipients will be encouraged to take an individually wrapped package of two masks for each person in their household.
 
About the masks:
 
These masks will be no cost, high-quality, washable, and consistent with the mask guidance from the CDC.  All of these masks will be made in America, and will not impact availability of masks for health care workers.
 
The masks will be available beginning in March and into May. As a result of these actions, an estimated 12 to 15 million Americans will receive masks. More than 25 million masks total will be distributed.

 

February 23, 2021 Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi of Iraq

 

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February 23, 2021
 
Readout of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi of Iraq
President Joseph R. Biden spoke today with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi of Iraq. The President affirmed U.S. support for Iraq’s sovereignty and independence and commended the Prime Minister’s leadership. They discussed the recent rocket attacks against Iraqi and Coalition personnel and agreed that those responsible for such attacks must be held fully to account. Together, they discussed the importance of advancing the Strategic Dialogue between our countries and expanding bilateral cooperation on other key issues. The President agreed to stay in close touch with the Prime Minister over the coming days and weeks.

Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership

 

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Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership

“It is in the shared interest of the United States and Canada to revitalize and expand our historic alliance and steadfast friendship to overcome the daunting challenges of today and realize the full potential of the relationship into the future. The Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership announced today establishes a blueprint for an ambitious and whole-of- government effort against the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of our mutual prosperity. It creates a partnership on climate change, advances global health security, bolsters cooperation on defense and security, and it reaffirms a shared commitment to diversity, equity, and justice. Bound by history and geography, the partnership between the United States and Canada endures because we invest in each other’s success.” 

President Joe Biden
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 
February 23, 2021


Combating COVID-19

The top priority of the President and the Prime Minister is to end the COVID-19 pandemic. They agreed to strengthen comprehensive and cross-sectoral efforts to control the pandemic, collaborate on public health responses, and build resilience against future outbreaks. 
  • The Prime Minister and the President committed to working closely together to defeat the virus, including by surging the health and humanitarian response to the global pandemic, responding to new variants, following expert advice, and supporting global affordable access to and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, including through the COVAX Facility.
  • The leaders emphasized their strong support for the multilateral institutions that are on the front lines of COVID-19 response, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN development agencies, and committed to rapidly fulfilling national pledges to COVAX.   
  • They agreed on the importance of a transparent and independent evaluation and analysis, free from interference, of the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak, and to work together toward the development and use of swift, effective, transparent, and independent means for investigating such outbreaks in the future.
  • They also recognized the importance of urgent global action to advance health security, counter biological threats, and prevent the next pandemic, and agreed to leverage existing pandemic preparedness arrangements and platforms, such as the North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza, the Global Health Security Agenda and the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.
  • They further agreed on the need to improve international institutions for global capacity for pandemic preparedness and response, including by working to strengthen and reform the WHO, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and exploring the establishment of a permanent facilitator for high consequence biological threats within the office of the UN Secretary-General and a sustainable health security financing mechanism.
  • They discussed emerging outbreaks, including the Ebola outbreaks in West and Central Africa and agreed on the importance of a robust global response and partnership with regional organizations, such as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to build health security capacity for the future.
  • They agreed on the importance of countering biological threats, whether naturally occurring, deliberate, or accidental and to advancing policies and practices domestically and through health, foreign assistance, and threat reduction programs to improve biosafety, biosecurity, and biological norms for mitigating biological risks associated with life sciences research and biotechnology advances.

The President and the Prime Minister recognize coordinated border policies remain central to controlling COVID-19 and new variants while promoting economic growth and recovery.
  • Both leaders agreed to take a coordinated approach based on science and public health criteria when considering measures to ease Canada-U.S. border restrictions in the future.
  • The two leaders agreed to strengthen the U.S.-Canada Action Plan on Opioids recognizing the rise in drug use and overdoses in both of our countries as a result of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.


Building Back Better

The Prime Minister and the President share a vision for a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery that strengthens the middle class, creates more opportunities for hard working people to join it, and ensures people have good jobs and careers on both sides of the border. They also recognized the opportunity for clean growth driven by workers, communities, businesses, and innovation. 
  • The leaders agreed on the need to build back better together in a way that addresses the disproportionate impacts on women, youth, underrepresented groups, and Indigenous peoples.
  • As COVID-19 has rolled back many of the hard-won gains women have achieved over past decades, the President and Prime Minister committed to implement measures to support women’s full and equal participation in the workforce, including with respect to early learning and childcare.
  • The President and the Prime Minister also considered the impact of the pandemic on small businesses. The United States and Canada announced joint initiatives to accelerate economic recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on supporting women-owned and minority/Indigenous-owned SMEs, by leveraging the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) SME chapter and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) model.
  • The two leaders launched a strategy to strengthen Canada-U.S. supply chain security and agreed to reinforce our deeply interconnected and mutually beneficial economic relationship.  
  • The leaders also agreed to work together to build the necessary supply chains to make Canada and the United States global leaders in all aspects of battery development and production. To that end, the leaders agreed to strengthen the Canada-U.S. Critical Minerals Action Plan to target a net-zero industrial transformation, batteries for zero-emissions vehicles, and renewable energy storage.  
  • The leaders recognized the important economic and energy security benefits of the bilateral energy relationship and its highly integrated infrastructure. To further advance climate priorities, they agreed to renew and update the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the reliability and security of the North American energy infrastructure between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Natural Resources Canada to enhance cooperation on sustainable and equitable energy transitions, clean energy innovation, connectivity and low-carbon transportation. 
  • The leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation under the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI), a multinational effort to foster international cooperation on the minerals and metals that make the energy transition possible.
  • The Prime Minister and the President acknowledge the impact of international regulatory cooperation on enhancing economic competitiveness and well-being while maintaining high standards of public health, safety, labor, and environmental protection. 


Accelerating Climate Ambitions

The President and the Prime Minister expressed their commitment to strengthened implementation of the Paris Agreement, including by working together and with others to increase the scale and speed of action to address the climate crisis and better protect nature. 
  • Recalling the Agreement's call to pursue efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C., they will work in tandem, and encourage others to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050.
  • The Prime Minister and the President expressed their commitment to have their two countries work together on cooperative action ahead of the US-hosted Leaders’ Climate Summit that will allow both countries to increase their climate ambition. The President, in addition to acknowledging Canada’s new strengthened national climate plan and its globally ambitious price on pollution, reiterated his aim to have ready the US nationally determined contribution (NDC) in advance of the Summit and welcomed the Prime Minister’s aim to announce the enhanced 2030 emissions target for its NDC by the Summit as well.
  • The President also restated his commitment to holding polluters accountable for their actions. Both the President and the Prime Minister agreed to work together to protect businesses, workers and communities in both countries from unfair trade by countries failing to take strong climate action.
  • Both leaders agreed to launch a High Level Climate Ministerial, which will coordinate cooperation between the United States and Canada to increase ambition aligned to the Paris Agreement and net-zero objectives.  This Ministerial will also explore opportunities to align policies and approaches to create jobs, while tackling climate change and inequality, and enhancing adaptation and resilience to climate impacts.  The leaders reaffirmed the shared commitment to reducing oil and gas methane emissions to protect public health and the environment, as guided by the best science.
  • The leaders also agreed to take a coordinated approach to accelerating progress towards sustainable, resilient, and clean energy infrastructure, including encouraging the development of cross-border clean electricity transmission. To advance this work, the President affirmed the goal for the United States to achieve a net-zero carbon pollution free power sector by 2035 and the Prime Minister reaffirmed the goal for Canada to achieve 90 percent non-emitting electricity by 2030.
  • Given the integrated nature of the road transport, maritime, and aviation sectors, the President and Prime Minister agreed to take aligned and accelerated policy actions, including efforts to achieve a zero-emissions vehicle future.
  • The leaders committed to work with Canadian and American public and private financial institutions to advance the adoption of climate-related financial risk disclosure and align financial flows with climate goals, including the achievement of a prosperous net-zero emissions economy.
  • The leaders also recognized the ecological importance of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In particular, they agreed to work together to help safeguard the Porcupine caribou herd calving grounds that are invaluable to the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit peoples’ culture and subsistence.
  • The Prime Minister and the President agreed to be partners in protecting nature, including by supporting Indigenous-led conservation efforts. 
  • The two leaders agreed to work together on environmental restoration and conservation efforts, and to advancing nature-based climate solutions. 
  • In advancing climate solutions and protecting nature, both the President and the Prime Minister agreed on the importance of doing this work with Indigenous peoples, sub-national governments, workers, and stakeholders including civil society, youth, business and industry.


Advancing Diversity and Inclusion

The Prime Minister and the President discussed their shared commitment to addressing systemic racism, unconscious bias, gender-based discrimination, barriers for persons with disabilities, and all other forms of discrimination and exclusion.  
  • The two leaders expressed their shared determination to implement more effective, equitable, and inclusive approaches to community safety, criminal justice, and law enforcement. They will direct their agencies to focus on modernizing approaches to community safety and addressing issues of systemic racism and discrimination, including through meaningful engagement with civil society and community leaders.  This work will also consider innovative approaches to implementing institutional and community-based prevention, intervention, and diversion initiatives, including prioritizing the provision of adequate support and services to individuals facing mental health challenges or addiction.
  • The leaders agreed that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is the most effective approach to eradicating poverty and building a more peaceful, more inclusive, and more prosperous world. They also committed to ensuring that women are not left behind due to COVID-19, including by addressing the she-cession caused by the pandemic through investments and policies to support women’s full participation in the workforce. They agreed to exchange best practices in feminist public policy and the advancement of gender equity. They will do so by engaging policy actors from Canada and the United States, within and outside of government, to consider child benefits, early learning and childcare, pay equity, and women’s entrepreneurship, among other issues.  
  • The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to combat systemic racism and discrimination, and agreed to work together to share best practices and promote diversity and inclusion within both public and private sectors. 


Bolstering Security and Defense

The President and the Prime Minister agreed that collective security is a shared responsibility.
  • The leaders agreed on the importance of investment in modern, ready, and capable forces in line with their commitments to NATO under the 2014 Wales Summit Defense Investment Pledge. Such investments enable effective contributions to NATO, United Nations, and other global missions.
  • The Prime Minister and the President agreed to expand cooperation on continental defense and in the Arctic, including by modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
  • They directed their Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Defence and Secretaries of State and Defense to meet in a 2+2 Ministerial format to further coordinate our joint contributions to collective security.
  • The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed their determination to work together to counter terrorism and violent extremism in all forms, both at home and abroad.  In this context, the leaders agreed to enhance cooperation to counter exploitation of social media and the Internet by terrorists, violent extremists, and hate groups, strengthen information sharing to improve our respective prevention strategies addressing domestic violent extremism, and enhance reciprocal sharing on known and suspected threats.  
  • Canada and the United States will enhance law enforcement collaboration by reestablishing the Cross-Border Crime Forum to facilitate cooperation among law enforcement bodies, including strengthening information sharing between the two countries and addressing justice reform, as well as cross-border law enforcement challenges to make communities safer. The challenges include, but are not limited to tackling illegal cross-border flows of firearms, drugs, and currency, as well as organized crime, mass marketing fraud, and human trafficking. In this context, the President and Prime Minister noted their common objective to reduce gun violence and directed officials to explore the creation of a cross-border task force to address gun smuggling and trafficking.
  • The two countries will launch an expanded U.S.-Canada Arctic Dialogue to cover cross-cutting issues related to continental security, economic and social development, and Arctic governance.
  • Canada and the United States will increase cooperation to strengthen cybersecurity, and to confront foreign interference and disinformation. As part of their efforts to protect critical infrastructure in North America, the two countries will implement a Framework for Collaboration on Cybersecurity in the Energy Sector to enhance the security and resiliency of our cross-border energy infrastructure. 


Building Global Alliances

The Prime Minister and the President affirmed their shared commitment to addressing global challenges, and reiterated their firm commitment to the United Nations, G7 and G20 as well as NATO, the WTO, and the Five Eyes community.
  • The leaders agreed to work towards reviving the North American Leaders’ Summit as a recommitment of solidarity between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
  • They also agreed to expand cooperation with respect to the promotion of democracy, human rights, and media freedom in our hemisphere and around the world. The Prime Minister committed to partnering with the United States on a Summit for Democracy as well as through the Media Freedom Coalition.
  • They also discussed ways to more closely align our approaches to China, including to address the challenges it presents to our collective interest and to the international rules-based order.  This includes dealing with its coercive and unfair economic practices, national security challenges, and human rights abuses, while cooperating with China on areas where it is in our interest, such as climate change.
  • President Biden condemned the arbitrary detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and committed to work for their release.
  • The two leaders discussed their shared concern about Russia’s egregious mistreatment of Aleksey Navalny and its repression of democratic processes, gross violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and destabilizing policies around the world. They also reviewed the situations in Venezuela, Myanmar, Iran, Yemen, and the Middle East.
  • The leaders expressed their common concern about the global migration crisis, commitment to providing safe haven to refugees and asylum seekers, and determination to work together to strengthen efforts in these areas, including refugee resettlement. Recognizing the sources of instability and irregular migration in Central America, the leaders also agreed to work together to expand support for capacity building in affected countries. 

February 23, 2021 Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada in Joint Press Statements

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2021
 
Remarks by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada in Joint Press Statements
 
East Room
 
 
6:22 P.M. EST
 
PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Good evening, everyone.  Justin, we had good meetings.
 
Prime Minister Trudeau and I just concluded a very productive bilateral meeting, the first of what I’m sure will be many close and cooperative sessions. 
 
One of our last foreign trips I made was -- as Vice President was to visit the Prime Minister in Ottawa.  And today, we were able to drive right into the many vital issues of importance for both our nations.
 
For both our nations, getting COVID-19 under control at home and around the world is the immediate priority.  And we committed to work together to help prevent future biological threats by strengthening the World Health Organization, supporting our bold targets under the Global Health
Security Agenda, cooperating on the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons [and Materials] of Mass Destruction,
and engaging in -- other multilateral institutions to promote transparency, build capacity, and strengthening global norms. 
 
We also agreed to work in close cooperation to strengthen the supply chain security and resilience, and to ensure that
Canada and the United States are driving a robust economic recovery that benefits everyone, not just those at the top.
 
That’s especially important because we know that this pandemic is not affecting everyone the same way.  Women are dropping out of work -- the workforce at alarming rates.  Black, Latino, and Native are also -- and other minority communities are particularly hard hit.
 
And we also agreed to work together on a inclusive recovery, using the tools available to us through the Small and Medium Enterprise chapter of our trade agreement to support women- and minority-owned businesses.
 
And we also doubled down on our efforts to tackle climate change.  It was really, really encouraging.  Now that the United States is back in the Paris Agreement, we intend to demonstrate our leadership in order to spur other countries to raise their own ambitions.
 
Canada and the United States are going to work in lockstep
to display the seriousness of our commitment at both home and abroad.
 
To that end, we’re launching a high-level Climate Ambition Min- -- Ambition Ministerial and to align our policies and our goals, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
    
Prime Minister Trudeau and I share an unwavering faith in the capacity of our peoples to meet the challenges of this new age if we lead with our core strengths: our democratic values, our diverse and dynamic peoples.
 
We both recognize our responsibility, as leading democracies, to defend our shared values around the world and to strengthen our own democracies at home.  That means rooting out systemic racism and unconscious bias from our institutions and our laws, as well as our hearts. 
 
Today, we agreed to re-establish the Cross-Border Crime Forum and work together to modernize our approach to community safety, and to do all -- the most -- the most we can -- do more to take on racism and discrimination in both our systems.
 
Canada and the United States are not only vital partners, we're NATO Allies committed to shared defense.  The Prime Minister and I discussed our work with our European allies to bolster transatlantic security, which includes meeting our Wales commitments. 
 
We also agreed to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command -- NORAD -- which is still the only bi-national military command of its kind.  And we will launch an expanded U.S-Canadian Arctic dialogue to cover issues related to continental security, economic and social development, and Arctic governance.
 
And finally, coming on the heels of the G7 meeting last Friday, it was an opportunity for Tr- -- Prime Minister Trudeau and I to explore our bilateral partnership to reinforce and help drive issues of concern in our hemisphere and globally.  That includes coordinating our approaches to better compete with China and to counter threats to our interest and values.
 
Let me reiterate our support for the release of the detained Chinese -- the detained in China, two Canadians: Michael Spavor and Michael Koving [sic] -- Kovrig, excuse me.  Human beings are not bartering chips.  You know, we're going to work together until we get their safe return.
 
Canada and the United States will stand together against the abuse of universal rights and democratic freedoms.  We're going to strengthen our shared commitment to providing safe haven for refugees and asylum seekers, and so much more.
 
The United States has no closer and no more important friend than Canada.  Our nations share a close geography and history that will forever bind us together, but our values are even more consequential.
 
It’s -- but it's the shared spirit of our people that's going to ensure ours is the future of hope and opportunity.  Canadians and Americans are innovative, creative, entrepreneurial, competitive, open-hearted, and rights-respecting.  There's nothing we cannot achieve when we commit ourselves to it.  And when we work together, as the closest of friends should, we only make each other stronger.
 
So thank you again, Mr. Prime Minister, for your friendship and for your leadership.  And I look forward to when we're able to meet in person and -- and all that Canada and the United States are going to accomplish together.
 
So, God bless you, and thanks for today.
 
PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  Thank you so much, Joe.  Thank you.  Let me begin by saying that all of us are thinking of our friends in Texas right now.  I know SaskPower has been sending electricity down.  And as I told the President, Canada is here to help however we can.
 
Mr. President, it's been great to sit down with you this afternoon.  This is, of course, not the first time we've worked together.
 
Back in 2016, I had the pleasure of hosting you here in Ottawa as Vice President.  Over dinner, I remember talking about how the extraordinary friendship between Canada and the United States has not just weathered changing seasons; it has grown ever deeper and stronger. 
 
Well, today, we're taking our next step forward.  The President and I discussed the ambitious new partnership roadmap, based on shared values and priorities, that will guide our countries work together over the coming years.
 
In the face of COVID-19, of climate change, of rising inequality, this is our moment to act.
 
So we're not wasting any time in getting down to work.  Job one remains keeping people safe and ending this pandemic. 
 
This afternoon, the President and I discussed collaboration to beat COVID-19 -- from keeping key supplies moving and supporting science and research, to joint efforts through international institutions.  We're standing united in this fight. 
 
I know the President and I are on the same page when it comes to standing up for the middle class and people working hard to join it. 
 
And with millions of families relying on the Canada-U.S partnership, this is work we must do together.  Just take the energy industry.  Canadian energy workers power homes on both sides of the border.  It goes to show that we're all better off for this partnership. 
 
Today, the President and I discussed leveraging supply chains and support for businesses to create goal -- good wal- -- well-paying jobs and help people who've been hardest hit get back on their feet.
 
We're facing tough times, there's no doubt, but we're not facing them alone.  Canada and the United States are each other's closest allies, most important trading partners, and oldest friends. 
 
And we stand united to beat this pandemic and build a better tomorrow.  And I know our bone [sic] -- bond will grow even stronger. 
 
Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you, Joe, for your leadership, for your engagement.  And thank you in advance for all the great work we're going to be doing together.  Merci beaucoup.
 
PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you, Justin.  Au revoir.
 
PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  Bonsoir.

6:32 P.M. EST