Expressing appreciation and recognition for the Trump Administration for the creation of Operation Warp Speed and the historic development of a COVID19 vaccine.

Expressing appreciation and recognition for the Trump Administration for the creation of Operation Warp Speed and the historic development of a COVID19 vaccine. Whereas COVID19 has infected more than 28,000,000 people in the United States and taken the lives of more than 500,000; Whereas, on May 15, 2020, President Trump unveiled Operation Warp Speed, the nationwide effort to accelerate development of an effective COVID19 vaccine; Whereas Operation Warp Speed successfully deliver[ed] by the end of [2020] a vaccine at scale to treat the American people Whereas Operation Warp Speed, to date, has supported the authorization of 3 COVID19 vaccines in 9 months, rather than years; Whereas the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services partnered together to support the development, manufacturing, delivery, and administration of such COVID19 vaccines; Whereas the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, praised the Trump Administration for the unprecedented success of Operation Warp Speed including that multiple safe and effective COVID19 vaccines got done in 11 months from when we first knew about this virus [which] is at least 5 years faster than it's ever been before Whereas, on October 16, 2020, the Trump Administration and Operation Warp Speed announced a public-private partnership to leverage the expertise of certain private sector entities to distribute and administer COVID19 vaccines to nursing homes and long-term care facilities as quickly as possible, protecting the most at-risk populations in the United States; Whereas, on December 8, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order prioritizing access for the people of the United States to the COVID19 vaccines purchased by the United States Government; Whereas, on December 11, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first vaccine for emergency use to prevent COVID19; Whereas, on December 14, 2020, an intensive care unit nurse in New York City became the first person to receive the COVID19 vaccine in the United States; Whereas Operation Warp Speed helped to support development, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines, including procuring an initial 400,000,000 doses of COVID19 vaccines, contract options that the Biden Administration is reportedly levergaing to purchase additional doses; Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by the time President Trump left office, more than 21,000,000 doses of a COVID19 vaccine had been administered in the United States; Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on January 20, 2021, the last day in office for President Trump, 1,511,443 doses of a COVID19 vaccine were administered, setting the United States on pace to meet the initial goal of the Biden Administration to administer 100,000,000 vaccines within the first 100 days of the Biden presidency; and Whereas the rapid development and deployment of COVID19 vaccines has helped the United States combat the spread of COVID19, protect at-risk populations in the United States, and begin the process of reopening the schools, offices, and public spaces of the United States: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate (1) recognizes the accomplishments of the Trump Administration and Operation Warp Speed in supporting the development of COVID19 vaccines; and (2) expresses sincere gratitude to President Trump and his Cabinet for the vital contributions of Operation Warp Speed to supporting public health.

Summary: This resolution recognizes the efforts of the Trump Administration and Operation Warp Speed in the development of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine. Operation Warp Speed is an interagency partnership that coordinates federal efforts to accelerate the development, acquisition, and distribution of medical countermeasures for COVID-19.