[CBS] President Biden said the exodus of millions of women from the labor force and the closing of schools —along with the mental health issues for children that could arise — during the COVID-19 pandemic constitute a "national emergency." "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell spoke to Mr. Biden in the first network news interview he has given since his inauguration.
"It is a national emergency. It genuinely is a national emergency," Mr. Biden said. Nearly 3 million women have left the workforce over the past year.
The president said he and his staff realized the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic was "even more dire than we thought" once they entered the White House.
"We thought they had indicated there was a lot more vaccine available," Mr. Biden said. "And didn't turn out to be the case. So that's why we've ramped up every way we can."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mr. Biden's chief medical adviser and the top infectious disease doctor in the country, has said that to get herd immunity, 75% of Americans have to be vaccinated. At the current rate of 1.3 million vaccines a day, CBS News has calculated 75% of Americans won't be vaccinated until the end of 2021.
"We can't wait that long," Mr. Biden said.