President Joe Biden Targets Groups With Vaccine Uncertainty for COVID-19 Funds as U.S. Mourns for the 500,000 Lives Lost Due to The Disease

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Feb 23, 2021 02:36 AM EST

Amid the vaccine crusade happening in the United States, there are still people who are hesitant to take it despite the benefits. With allegations surrounding the notorious virus treatment, President Joe Biden addresses the issue by countering fear and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine by giving funds to people of color.

According to NBC News, the Biden administration is including efforts to re-establish the American public's trust to fight disinformation, which, according to the public health experts, is a significant problem in the United States.

Also read: COVID-19 Transmission Spreading Fear Through Overcrowded Prisons in Latin America

Funds for People of Color

CBS News reports that fifteen organizations advocating for Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans have received funds to boost their COVID-19 vaccine educational outreach. They add that UnidosUS and the National Urban League are awarded the most prominent funds that work $3.2 Million and $2 Million, respectively. CBS News also notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave more than $17 Million, which is intended for several organizations planning to provide vaccine education.

In an emailed statement, BuzzFeed News shares that Biden spokesperson T.J. Ducklo shares when Biden was still a president-elect that he will rebuild the American people's trust as a priority through providing accurate, fact-based information about progress in getting the pandemic under control.

President Biden wants to focus on the people of color because, according to CBS News, people of color are more likely to get infected with COVID-19 more than White people. Also, They noted that Hispanic and Native Americans are two to three times more likely to require hospitalization, according to the CDC's data.

CBS News also shares that White Americans are getting vaccinated at a far higher rate than other racial minorities. Data from CDC reveals that as of February 22, among the 19 million inoculated with the vaccine, 65% of them are White.

Lives lost due to COVID-19

Apart from the funds that are inclined to minorities who have uncertainty, the Biden administration lowered the flags as the United States mourn the demise of about 500,000 individuals as they lost their lives battling the notorious disease.

The Straits Times mentions President Biden's words in the remembrance ceremony, saying that the number of people who lost their lives during the pandemic is more than the number of Americans who died during the First and Second World War and the Vietnam War combined. The Straits News also references CDC Director Rochelle Walensky's data shared in a briefing stating that the current average of COVID-19 cases per day of 66,000 is 74 percent lower than the peak seven days on January 11.