The latest President Biden has escalated the government response to the pandemic. Tens of millions of Americans may be affected by the extensive mandates and executive orders the president announced this week to combat the coronavirus. "We're in a tough stretch, and it could last for a while," Biden said in an address Thursday. He added: "We have the tools to combat covid-19, and a distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are keeping us from turning the corner." What's in the plan? Here are eight key features of the new pandemic countermeasures: Businesses had a mixed response to these mandates. Officials at Amazon praised them. The president of the Business Roundtable, a group that includes Chevron, Caterpillar and other large companies, welcomed them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a neutral statement. And groups representing small and independent businesses expressed concern these mandates would threaten companies' recovery and free enterprise. These mandates for businesses and federal workers triggered an outcry among Republican governors and other conservative leaders. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott described them as an "assault on private businesses" and a "power grab" his state would try to defeat in a legal fight. President Biden said the GOP could "have at it." Biden's approach is not unheard of on the global stage. With these mandates, the United States joins a growing number of countries that have made it more difficult to be unvaccinated. In fact, some nations have made it mandatory for all eligible people to receive them, such as Indonesia. In France, meanwhile, residents who are vaccinated have easier access to restaurants and cafes. Three studies published Friday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly bulletin emphasize the importance of vaccination. One found that the unvaccinated were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with covid-19, and 11 times more likely to die of it, compared with fully vaccinated people. A second found that vaccine effectiveness dropped slightly as delta became dominant, but remained 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. And the third indicates Moderna has a higher vaccine effectiveness, vs. Pfizer-BioNTech or Johnson & Johnson, though the three vaccines all do a good job protecting against severe disease. Denmark boasts one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with almost 3 in 4 residents fully immunized, and a low level of infection. On Friday, officials there announced a "whole new era": Denmark lifted all pandemic restrictions, celebrating a return to something like normal. People only have to wear masks at the airport, and vaccine passports aren't required to enter bars or restaurants. Officials and experts attributed the milestone to a high level of public trust in the vaccines, robust testing infrastructure and a broad acceptance of measures to curb the virus's spread. Other important news Executives for BioNTech, the German company that partnered with Pfizer to create an mRNA vaccine, told the German news magazine Der Spiegel the company will seek worldwide approval for shots in children 5 to 11 as soon as October. Hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities are set to receive billions of dollars in pandemic aid released Friday by the Biden administration. Health institutions had been waiting for months for these funds to become available. Within about a month there have been 72 fetal deaths in unvaccinated pregnant women who were infected with the coronavirus, Mississippi state health officials said Wednesday. A Florida court reversed a judge's decision and sided with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), allowing the state to continue restricting enforcement of school mask mandates. It could be months before the appeals process concludes. France is thanking 12,000 front-line workers, who include cleaning staff and clinicians, by fast-tracking their applications to become French citizens. The University of Delaware told its faculty they are not permitted to tell students when a classmate tests positive for the coronavirus. Women are feeling left behind as federal pandemic aid begins to disappear. | 
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