By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden planned on Tuesday to urge Americans in hurricane-prone states to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect them in case they have to evacuate from their homes, a White House official said.
The spread of coronavirus has been particularly severe in the southeastern United States, including Florida, which is also prone to storms as the country heads into the height of the Atlantic hurricane season.
“The President will discuss how the best thing people can do to prepare ahead of peak hurricane season is to get vaccinated,” the official said.
Biden will meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell and other security and public health officials to discuss efforts to adapt plans for evacuating and sheltering residents in light of increased COVID-19 infections.
States with lower vaccination rates have been hardest hit by the fast-spreading variant. Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi account for half of the country’s new cases and hospitalizations in the last week, administration officials said last week.
Tensions have increased between the White House and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has sought to block funding for school districts that adopt mask requirements in line with those issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in May forecast an above-normal 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, saying it expected between three and five major hurricanes, with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178 kph).
Meteorologists have also predicted an above-average season for 2021, but not as busy as 2020 because of an end to the La Niña system that promotes storm formation. The 2020 hurricane season was the most active on record and produced 30 named tropical storms.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Gregorio)
