ATLANTA — President Joe Biden visited the Atlanta headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday to thank public health workers racing to contain the coronavirus pandemic and declare that “science is back.”
As he showered CDC workers with gratitude and praise, Biden also warned that the COVID-19 outbreak could be a harbinger of what’s to come in an increasingly globalized society.
“I hope this is the beginning of the end of not paying attention to what’s going to come again and again and again. We can build all the walls we want, we’ve got the most powerful armies in the world,” he said. “But we cannot stop these viruses, other than being aware where they are and to move quickly on them when we find them.”
Biden’s visit to the CDC is part of a trip that was initially intended to celebrate the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, though it was refocused to show support for the Asian American community after this week’s deadly shootings of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at metro Atlanta spas.
Still, Biden touted the sweeping aid measure during his remarks to CDC staffers, calling it a “bipartisan effort” even though it squeezed through Congress without any Republican support.
“This is a bipartisan effort. It isn’t showing itself in the way senators and congressmen vote, but the public’s” support exists, he said, citing polls that showed broad support for the initiative. “The public is thankful because it’s about science,” the president said. “That’s what they understand.”
The trip comes roughly a year after then-President Donald Trump visited the CDC as the outbreak worsened, when he sought to play down the risk of the virus.
It also coincided with a milestone of administering 100 million coronavirus vaccinations since Biden took office. He promised to hit that mark within his first 100 days in office, and he cleared the hurdle with weeks to spare.
Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, who echoed his praise for CDC employees.
“We are here to say thank you because it’s not easy, and you’re making difficult decisions right now,” Harris said.
“You do this work on behalf of people you will never meet, on behalf of people who will never know your names, because you care about this country.”
