S-N Editorial

Whether you're a Democrat, Republican or something in between, nobody is envious of President Joe Biden right now.

On Wednesday he inherited a nation deeply divided along partisan lines, with millions of Americans still believing his election victory was illegitimate. Nonetheless, he still has to govern. Now more than ever, it's imperative the new chief executive finds a common cause the entire country can rally around during the first 100 days of his presidency.

Biden has that opportunity in stemming the tide against COVID-19. As it stands, more than 400,000 Americans have died during the pandemic and our way of life is still being held hostage as the virus ravages the country from sea to shining sea. It's obviously no easy task, but a concrete federal strategy is the only chance we have at gaining ground.

Data from the CDC shows that of the roughly 31.2 million doses that have been sent out, only 12.1 million have been used. That's decidedly not good, and Biden's pledge to vaccinate 100 million Americans during the next 100 days is an admirable goal to gain a foothold.

The incoming administration hopes to achieve the 100 million watermark with a four-pronged strategy: Loosen the restrictions on who can get vaccinated and when, set up more sites where vaccinations are administered, mobilize more medical personnel to deliver the vaccinations, and use the federal government's might to increase the vaccine supply by manufacturing whatever is needed, whenever it is needed. Achieving this will be easier said than done, but the true failure is not trying.

The fact that we have multiple vaccines in less than a year is a credit to the Trump Administration's Operation Warp Speed. But now that we have them, America must adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach to getting people inoculated. This virus is going nowhere and we need to get on the offensive after being forced to play defense for nine months while the vaccines were in development. America needs to put this effort into overdrive.

Regardless of the pandemic and the Biden Administration's handling of it, this country is facing turbulent months ahead. The political division will remain, but we must find it within ourselves to put that on hold and face this virus head on – the current pace of vaccine rollout will only lead to more illness, deaths and heartbreak. The solution is literally right there in front of us and we absolutely must grab the bull by the horns.