https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-control-covid-biden-needs-to-marshal-federal-resources-and-change-attitudes1/

As I write, the U.S. has entered a dire phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infections are rising in nearly every state, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized, and deaths have topped 280,000—the highest total in the world. The crush of patients is overwhelming hospitals and, almost a year into the catastrophe, their health workers still do not have enough medical-grade masks. The Trump administration has actively resisted some of the most important measures to contain COVID, such as prompt testing and tracing of cases and mask wearing. Donald Trump himself seems to be ignoring the rising outbreak, instead hyping false claims about voter fraud in the election he lost. Though effective vaccines are arriving for some high-priority groups, the country is facing a dark, tragic winter.

It’s hard to imagine a starker contrast to the approach announced by Trump’s successor. Within a week of the election, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris assembled a coronavirus task force of respected scientists and public health experts, and outlined a COVID-19 plan. That plan aims to scale up testing and contact tracing, encourage state and local mask mandates, boost production of personal protective equipment (PPE), provide economic support for small businesses that have had to curtail activity or close, give money to schools, ensure a smooth and trustworthy vaccine rollout, protect high-risk groups, address racial and ethnic disparities in COVID’s impact, and prepare for the next pandemic.