President Joe Biden said COVID-19 vaccinations and third-shot boosters give significant protection against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Vaccines, medical supplies, and awareness of COVID-19 have put the country in a far better position than it was in March 2020, according to Biden.
Given the fast spread of Omicron, the president realized that Americans are concerned about visiting loved ones for the holidays. Biden emphasized the need for booster doses and vaccinations for children, particularly those aged 5 to 11.
Biden unveils Omicron plan, including free at-home COVID tests
Per USA Today, the president announced intentions to expand COVID-19 testing locations by thousands, as well as federal government purchase of half a billion at-home rapid tests. Americans won't be able to order the at-home tests until January, which means they won't be able to have them before the holidays when millions of people are scheduled to travel.
According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the federal government is still working out the terms of the program, including whether particular groups would be favored.
The 500 million tests came on top of the 50 million tests that the Biden administration gave to community health clinics earlier this month. The Biden administration intends to make at-home testing a covered expenditure and perhaps increase access to free tests for uninsured people.
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Biden resists shutdowns
Vaccinated and boosted Americans should not need to abandon plans to spend time with family and friends this Christmas season, despite the recent infections rise, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci recognized the worrying rise caused by the Omicron variant when appearing on morning news shows. In the United States, Omicron is currently the most common coronavirus variant, accounting for 73 percent of new infections last week. Fauci argued that hospitalization figures are more relevant than infection statistics on CNN's "New Day."
President Biden is opposing school closures and other shutdown measures in the face of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, as the public grows sick of a seemingly never-ending pandemic and uncertainty over health officials' contradictory messages.
Biden is attempting to persuade people to take precautions, but his address on Tuesday was a departure from previous messages. He is no longer advocating for stringent mitigation measures such as non-essential company closures, and the idea of social separation is seldom addressed.
However, Biden is reaching the end of his abilities. The administration is promoting testing and vaccinations, which the Biden administration sees as one of the reasons for the lack of need for more stringent pandemic precautions. Still, there is little political appetite for anything more drastic.
Instead, Biden's new tone reflects the fact that COVID-19 is here to stay, and Americans should not anticipate their lives to be dramatically upended once more. In contrast to other countries, the United States has never had a statewide lockdown. Even in the midst of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020, each governor made his or her own state-by-state judgments regarding the extent of restrictions to apply, as per The Hill.
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