We begin this week with the thoughts above as we wanted to share a snapshot of what the Federal Government has been doing and the goal shared by President Biden during his speech on Thursday to have all US Adults be eligible for Vaccination by May 1st--our team will continue to assess it all:
FEMA COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Update
In alignment with President Biden’s plan to respond to COVID-19, FEMA will work with other federal agencies to coordinate with state, tribal and territorial authorities and private sector partners and others to assist, augment and expedite vaccinations in the United States.
Key Messages
- As of March 11, FEMA has provided more than $4.28 billion to 38 states, Washington D.C., four tribes and five territories for expenses related to COVID-19 vaccination at 100% federal cost share. These funds cover critical supplies, staffing, training and transportation needs that support increased vaccination efforts.
- On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. This new law provides additional relief to address the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals and businesses. The law also appropriates $50 billion to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund for costs associated with major disaster declarations.
- FEMA is committed to the equitable distribution of vaccines. Using data from CDC’s social vulnerability index and population data from the Census, we work with our state partners to locate community vaccination centers where they will be able to do the most good for the most vulnerable populations and ensure everyone who wants a vaccine gets one.
- FEMA is actively engaging state, tribal, territorial, local, and nonprofit partners to ensure all individuals have the information to decide whether they want a vaccine, know the steps to get one, and have access to one.
- FEMA is working to speed up vaccinations by supporting states as they open community vaccination centers across the country. Additionally, FEMA and its interagency partners continue to stand-up and provide support to additional sites daily. Each state determines its own vaccination priority groups and procedures. Community vaccination centers are led by states, but may be supported by the federal government, including FEMA.
- FEMA is also working with state governments to open additional federal community vaccination center pilot sites, which include both federal support and supplemental vaccine allocation:
- Within the next two weeks, federal community vaccination center pilot sites will open in Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio.
- Find out where, when and how to get a vaccine in your community and get more information from your local health department and a list of places where adults can get a vaccine. Visit FEMA.Gov for information on FEMA's vaccination support efforts.
March 5, 2021
Good morning. David Meyer here in Berlin, filling in for Alan.
Perhaps some good will come of Brexit, at some point. But for now, its core incongruities are causing an unholy mess.
At the center of the mess is Northern Ireland, the only part of the U.K. that has a land border with the EU. That fact has put the U.K.’s Brexiteer administration in an impossible position: given that it rejected staying in a customs union with the EU, customs checks have to go somewhere, but every option is a bad one.
The checks can’t go on the land border, because a hard border would threaten the apparently-still-quite-fragile Good Friday peace agreement, struck in 1998 between the unionists/loyalists who favor Northern Ireland staying part of the U.K., and the republicans who want to join Ireland. So, under the Brexit withdrawal agreement that took effect a year ago, Boris Johnson’s government agreed to put the customs checks in the sea between the province and the island of Great Britain.
Unionists hate this, because it means treating Northern Ireland differently from other parts of the U.K. And so, two days ago, a bunch of loyalist paramilitary groups—yes, they’re still around, as are republican paramilitaries—withdrew their support for the Good Friday Agreement until the U.K. and EU agree to allow “unfettered access for goods, services, and citizens throughout the United Kingdom.” They said they will stay peaceful for now, but warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the peace deal will suffer “permanent destruction” if they don’t get their way.
But, in trying to keep those goods moving across the new, marine customs border, Johnson’s government has managed to enrage the EU—with different, negative consequences now hoving into view.
When the Brexit transition period ended at the start of this year, the sudden need for filling out lots of paperwork caused serious problems in the flow of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland. The U.K. asked the EU for a two-year extension to the grace periods for Irish Sea border checks, but the EU said no, so—also on Wednesday—the U.K. said it was unilaterally extending those grace periods.
The European Commission had a fit, pointing out that this was the second time the U.K. was reneging on very recent commitments. There could be legal consequences for this, but, more urgently, the European Parliament has now postponed its ratification of the Brexit trade deal that was agreed at the last minute before the transition period ended.
The message is clear: honor the withdrawal agreement, including its intra-U.K. border checks, or thin-deal Brexit becomes the no-deal Brexit everyone was worried about.
There’s no pleasing everybody in this situation, and either side’s displeasure comes with very real and unpredictable consequences. And that’s what happens when you claim an extremely complex and equilibrium-shattering proposition is as simple as a slogan. “Get Brexit done”? That’s been achieved. But we still don’t know the cost.
More news below.
David Meyer
@superglaze
david.meyer@fortune.com
