How red states might block Biden’s roadmap to Covid recovery

The responsibility to implement public health measures is shared with state leaders - some of whom see the moves as a threat to the Republican party

Joe Biden inherited a country deeply divided over the coronavirus. A country where public health measures as simple as wearing a mask and social distancing have become symbols of political party affiliation. It's a divide that may prove a significant blockage to the president's roadmap to recovery.

Biden speaks to the aspiration of unity, and it's nice to hope for that, but the pandemic has been understood by much of the country through deeply polarized and politicized lenses," said Wendy Parmet, a professor of law and public policy at Northeastern University.