‘Science is back’: Biden says CDC staff are owed a ‘gigantic debt of gratitude’ for saving lives

President tells scientists they are ‘the Army, the Navy, the Marines and the Coast Guard’ in fight against Covid

Joe Biden says that staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are owed a “gigantic debt of gratitude” for saving lives during the pandemic.

The president thanked CDC employees during a visit to its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and told them that under his administration, “Science is back.”

“We owe you a gigantic debt of gratitude and we will for a long, long, long time,” said Mr Biden.

The president also warned that walls and armies would not be able to prevent viruses that may have to be faced “again and again.”

“Science is back. For the longest time, not just as it relates to the CDC, but science was viewed as an appendage to anything we talked about, but it is back,” he said.

Mr Biden then said that it was not only his administration that supported science, but that the American people had “moved” in its support, even if Republican politicians had not.

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“We’re not going back to the old days, even if tomorrow the whole administration changed, you have changed things in a way that will make everyone healthier in this country – you speak truth and science to power,” he said.

The president also compared the efforts by scientists to the military at war.

“This is a war and you are the frontline troops. You are the Marines, you are the Army, the Navy and the Coast Guard,” he added.

“You are not only saving lives but changing the mindset of the country. It has affected everything, not only their health but their attitude about what we can do for the country.”

Mr Biden’s visit to the CDC came as its experts relaxed physical distancing requirements for children in school, from six feet to three feet in an effort to get more youngsters back in classrooms.

However, teachers and other adult school staff must remain six feet apart and face coverings remain mandatory.