Coronavirus Roundup: Pentagon Increases Occupancy Levels; Top Intelligence Official Says COVID-19 Origin May Not Be Fully Known

Top public health and administration officials acknowledged on Tuesday that the country might not meet President Biden’s vaccine goals by July 4, although there has been great progress.  

“Our aspirational goal for July 4th was 70% of the adult population receiving at least one dose, but that is not the goal line, nor is it the endgame,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a briefing. “The endgame is to go well beyond that, beyond July 4th, into the summer and beyond, with the ultimate goal of crushing the outbreak completely in the United States.” 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that nearly every death from the coronavirus is “entirely preventable” now because of the vaccines. Here are some of the other recent headlines you might have missed. 

Starting on Wednesday, the Pentagon is allowing 50% occupancy in workspaces, up from 40%, and up to 50-person gatherings, up from 25. “Random COVID-19 entrance screening of the workforce will continue at about 10% to 20% levels and COVID-19 screening for visitors will continue at 100%,” said Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby during a briefing on Monday. “Supervisors will continue to provide maximum telework opportunities to eligible employees. Personnel who are not fully vaccinated should continue to follow DoD mask and social distancing guidelines.” 

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, National Institutes of Health director and other top officials published a commentary in the journal Science on Tuesday making the case to establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (within NIH). This is also proposed in the president’s fiscal 2022 budget request and would work on breakthrough treatments for diseases. Shortly after COVID-19 broke out in the United States, NIH launched unprecedented therapeutic and vaccine programs and “although these programs have been successful, they required bespoke solutions and herculean efforts to get them off the ground,” said the commentary. “Because NIH lacks a regular framework for such projects, many bold ideas are hard to realize. That’s where ARPA-H can help.” 

The Homeland Security Department said earlier this week that it’s extending COVID-19 restrictions on non-essential travel to Canada and Mexico through July 21. “DHS also notes positive developments in recent weeks and is participating with other U.S. agencies in the White House’s expert working groups with Canada and Mexico to identify the conditions under which restrictions may be eased safely and sustainably,” said a tweet from the department. 

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told Yahoo News in a recent interview that we might never know the true origins of the coronavirus. “It’s true that the vast majority of pandemics and novel diseases have originated through human contact with animals, but you also look at the fact that it appears to have come from the area in which this lab was doing work on coronaviruses and you have to look at that option as well,” she said. “You can make an argument in either direction.”

The Small Business Administration announced on Tuesday it’s reconvening the Council on Underserved Communities to “address the immediate needs and concerns of underserved and underrepresented communities hit hard by COVID-19.” The council was initially established in 2020. 

The Government Accountability Office released on Tuesday an overview of the federal government’s spending on contracting in fiscal 2020, which reached over $665 billion, a more than $70 billion increase from fiscal 2019. “Half of this increase, or $35 billion, is attributed to spending on medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to treat COVID-19 patients, among other things related to COVID-19,” said the watchdog. 

Upcoming: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will give a briefing at 12:45 p.m. 

Help us understand the situation better. Are you a federal employee, contractor or military member with information, concerns, etc. about how your agency is handling the coronavirus? Email us at newstips@govexec.com.