News: Delta to Biden: The easy part is over

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Delta to Biden: The easy part is over

Jul 27, 2021

With help from Myah Ward

SO MUCH FOR OUR HOT VAX SUMMER — America's official return to pre-Covid life lasted all of three weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly reversed its guidance on mask wearing today. The agency now says that vaccinated people in Covid-19 hotspots should mask up indoors, and sometimes even outdoors, based on new data on the highly contagious Delta variant.

For President Joe Biden, who pledged a "return to normal" on July 4, the CDC's about-face is a tacit admission that competence alone won't vanquish the coronavirus.

When his administration took office in the chaotic early days of the nation's vaccine rollout, it picked the low-hanging fruit by working to streamline vaccine distribution channels and improve communication with governors and other state officials. The federal government set up a network of high-volume vaccine mega-sites across the country and arranged for pharmacies nationwide to give out the shot, helping to boost Covid vaccinations to a daily record of 4.6 million doses on April 10.

A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles.

A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. | Marcio Jose Sanchez, File/AP Photo

But the deep partisan split over the pandemic — and the value of the vaccines — has helped to stall the country's adult vaccination rate at just under 70 percent, the goal Biden hoped to reach by Independence Day. In states like Alabama and Louisiana, where the Delta variant is driving a surge in new infections and hospitalizations, the adult vaccination rate is just over 50 percent.

So, with the pace of inoculations slowed to a crawl, and a new wave of infection building nationwide, the CDC has once again turned to masks to fight the virus. We're not alone in this: Countries like Israel, Australia and South Korea have reinstated national or regional mask mandates in the face of Delta. It's yet another sign that Covid-19 is a wily foe, and the fortunes of the vaccinated and unvaccinated are inextricably linked.

Unwilling to revisit the lockdown days of 2020, the White House now appears to be turning to powerful but so far untested tools against the virus. Biden said today that he is considering a vaccine mandate for federal employees — one day after the VA said it would require the shot for any employees who provide direct patient care. "Unlike 2020, we have both the scientific knowledge and the tools to prevent the spread of this disease," Biden told reporters. "We are not going back" to "the kind of lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, and disruptions we faced in 2020."

There's no way to roll back the clock. But there's still a way to beat Covid.

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author directly at lmorello@politico.com or on Twitter at @lmorello_dc.

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Ask The Audience

Nightly asks you: As the Delta variant leads to increased cases around the nation, are you changing your behavior this summer? Send us your answers using our form , and we'll feature select responses in Friday's edition.

What'd I Miss?

— Senators nearing $2B Capitol security deal: Senate spending leaders are closing in on a more than $2 billion agreement that would fill the waning budgets of the Capitol Police and National Guard after months of strain following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) are negotiating the deal as a counter proposal to the $1.9 billion emergency spending bill that stalled in the Senate after House passage in May. The package would total just over $2 billion, including more than $1 billion for the Department of Defense, $100 million for the Capitol Police and $300 million for other Capitol security measures, according to sources familiar with the proposal.

— Biden expected to visit NYC's 9/11 memorial site for 20th anniversary of attacks: Biden is expected to attend the 9/11 memorial in New York City to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks , four sources with knowledge of his plans told POLITICO. The White House recently indicated to officials in New York that Biden plans to travel for the commemoration, two of the sources said. Officials are also looking at possible stops at other locations attacked that day: the Pentagon and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. But one administration official said it may be logistically difficult to attend all three spots in one day.

— DHS Secretary Mayorkas cancels in-person events over Covid fears: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is working remotely because he was in contact with a department official who later tested positive for Covid-19, a DHS spokesperson told POLITICO.

— Cuban embassy in Paris attacked with petrol bombs: The Cuban embassy in Paris was attacked with petrol bombs today, its staff said, causing damage to the building but no harm to those working inside. The Cuban Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Twitter and posted photos of the damaged building, writing: "Those directly responsible for these acts are those who incite violence and hatred against our country."

— Warren urges Yellen to crack down on cryptocurrency: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to rally federal agencies to develop a "coordinated and cohesive regulatory strategy" on cryptocurrencies, which the Massachusetts Democrat says pose growing risks to the financial system. Warren told Yellen in a letter released today that she should tap the Financial Stability Oversight Council — a panel of top regulators that the Treasury secretary chairs — to "act with urgency."

JOIN WEDNESDAY – A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMEN POWERING SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT: Covid-19 took a massive toll on the entertainment and sports industries over the past year and a half. As the summer movie season kicks into full gear, concerts make their way back and crowds fill sports stadiums, we look to the women powering these industries to return in full force. Join POLITICO Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a conversation with Kamala Avila-Salmon, head of Inclusive Content for Films at Lionsgate; Monica Dixon, president, External Affairs & chief administrative officer Monumental Sports; and Sandy Lighterman, Film & Entertainment commissioner, Miami Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment on lessons learned from the pandemic upheaval to these industries and what it means for the long haul. REGISTER HERE.

Nightly Interview

JUST ANOTHER MANDATE MONDAY — Yesterday felt like a tipping point for vaccine mandates — a contentious idea that employers across the U.S., including the federal government, are warming up to as Covid patients once again fill up hospital beds.

More than 60 medical organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, said vaccine mandates for all health care workers are an "ethical" obligation.

Nightly's Myah Ward talked with ANA President Ernest Grant about his organization's decision to sign on to the joint statement, why he felt now was the right time for it and how these moves may influence hospitals across the country to require vaccinations. This conversation has been edited.

This is a large group of people in agreement on a controversial topic. Did it take a lot of debate to get here?

ANA changed our position statement on vaccines a couple of weeks before this. But this was relatively quick. The request came in, I believe, last Thursday, and within a couple of days, all the other organizations had signed on.

From our perspective, it was an easy decision.

It felt like yesterday was mandate day. We had New York and California issuing requirements, and the first federal agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, said they would require health care workers to get shots. Why now?

We had no idea that New York and California would be issuing their statement, and we definitely did not have any idea that the VA system would issue that statement as well.

Even though it was not a concerted effort, I think the fact it was like boom boom boom boom boom, hopefully the public and health care workers will begin to sit up and take notice: "Hey, they really mean that. We need to get control of this virus."

Some people argue that it's too soon to mandate a vaccine that doesn't have full FDA approval. What would you say to that?

There is evidence that the vaccines are effective. There's been more than 300 million doses of the vaccine given in the U.S. with a relatively small amount of side effects.

And of course, if more and more people are not vaccinated, that's going to allow for more mutations of the virus. And the potential that the vaccines that are out there may become ineffective altogether. And so we're going to be right back where we were at the beginning of 2020.

Any idea when we may see full approval?

If I were to speculate, I would say probably before the end of the year. One of the things you have to think about is the hesitancy that individuals might have if there were a rush to approve the vaccines. And then the story would be, "Well, you know, they didn't study it long enough before it was approved."

We were experiencing a nursing shortage before and during the pandemic. Do you worry mandates will exacerbate this?

We estimate probably about 83 percent of nurses have been vaccinated, which is really good, but we'd like to see that number higher. This is based on some surveys that we have done.

My big concern is that I hear from nurses every day that they are tired. They're exhausted. Just when they thought they were going to get the chance to catch their breath, the hospitals are filling up again, and filling up needlessly because we know that if people were to get vaccinated, we could tamp down this virus.

Until that happens, it's going to be very challenging for the nurses, and some of them are choosing or may choose, "I can't take this. I need to either step away from the bedside or do something else in nursing."

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AROUND THE WORLD

'YOU NEED SOME GUNSLINGERS' — If the United States really wants Russia to stop ransomware attacks and other hostile activities, Garry Kasparov has a solution ripped from his days as a chess grandmaster: Go after the king.

Russia President Vladimir Putin is thought to be worth tens of billions of dollars, Kasparov notes. Researchers have pieced together his alleged assets by examining everything from Putin's luxury watches to a palace he's said to frequent to unusual money trails that lead to his inner circle.

That secret wealth makes Putin uniquely vulnerable to U.S. sanctions, Kasparov argues. It's time, he says, for the Biden administration to crack down on the billionaire loyalists who keep the Russian dictator in power and help hide his riches. The chess champ and Kremlin critic is not the only one pushing the idea. Activists working with imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny have been circulating in Washington a list of 35 people linked to Putin whose assets they say America should freeze.

"It's not an extreme measure. It's the only effective one," Kasparov told POLITICO. "Putin doesn't care about Russia or Russians. There are no national interests, just his."

But to the chagrin of Kasparov, his fellow Russian dissidents and even some former U.S. officials, Biden is resisting such appeals for now.

"We're not really trying hard enough," said Evelyn Farkas, a former top Pentagon official under then-President Barack Obama. "[Putin] is not taking the message from the new United States president seriously enough."

Instead, Biden has turned to more traditional sanctions and diplomatic moves in the face-off with Russia, Nahal Toosi writes. Some Biden aides are not convinced that going after Putin's wealth would chasten him to the point critics predict. Instead, after a vigorous internal debate, White House officials decided on a less aggressive approach: They'll put Russia on notice without escalating tensions or jeopardizing potential cooperation on shared challenges like climate change.

Nightly Number

47 percent

The percentage of California voters most likely to participate in the September recall election who support recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom , according to a poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies and cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times. The poll also showed 50 percent opposed the effort. That difference falls within the poll's margin of error.

Parting Words

'A MEDIEVAL BATTLE' — Four police officers who defended the Capitol from a Jan. 6 riot by Donald Trump supporters spoke out today during the first hearing of the select committee investigating the attack , sharing harrowing details of their physical and mental trauma. As the riot fades from public memory amid a new wave of Republican revisionism, select panel members aimed to cast the hearing — the first time Congress has heard publicly from law enforcement on the front lines of the response to Jan. 6 — as a vivid reminder of what happened. Watch what they said, in 180 seconds.

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