As part of its effort to combat the Omicron variant sweeping the country, the Biden administration will open federal COVID-19 testing stations in New York City this week and purchase 500 million at-home quick tests that Americans will be able to request online for free starting in January.
President Joe Biden will lay out the measures in a speech on Tuesday, warning of the risks from the fast-spreading variant, a senior administration official said, striking a more serious tone about the risks to the one in four American people who remain unvaccinated.
Activating 1,000 military medical professionals to bolster hospitals that are already overburdened in some locations is one of the options.
“We’ll also point out that if you haven’t been vaccinated, you’re at a significant risk of being unwell. The unvaccinated are eight times more likely to be hospitalised and 14 times more likely to die from COVID than those who have been vaccinated “According to the official,
New COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the United States, causing local and federal officials to reconsider how far they can go to combat the virus as the holiday travel season approaches. Omicron currently accounts for 73 percent of all new cases, up from less than 1% at the start of the month, according to federal officials.
According to White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, the US is considering decreasing the normal 10-day quarantine period for persons who contract COVID in order to help asymptomatic people return to work or school.
Texas health officials announced on Monday that the state had documented the first confirmed Omicron-related death in the United States, according to ABC News.
The extremely contagious strain was initially discovered last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong, and has already spread to 89 nations, according to the World Health Organization.
Over the weekend, queues for COVID-19 tests ran around the block in New York, Washington, and other U.S. cities as people rushed to find out if they were sick before spending the holidays with family.
In response to criticism that testing resources are insufficient, Biden will announce on Tuesday that the federal government will purchase 500 million at-home quick tests in January and make them available to all Americans.
Americans can order them through a new website, but regulators are still determining how many tests each home can order.
According to a senior administration official, the government will operate additional federal testing sites beginning in New York City ahead of Christmas.
According to the official, other government sites would be opened across the country in high-need areas and when local and state officials request them.
Biden’s COVID-19 reaction has been chastised for focusing on vaccines over testing and masking, as well as underestimating the importance of the politically motivated anti-vaccine campaign in the United States.
The free tests come on top of a plan to have health insurers give free tests for Americans with coverage, which is set to start in January.
Biden will point out that because the Omicron strain is so contagious, it will infect vaccinated Americans, but they will be significantly less likely to become gravely ill.
Breakthrough infections are on the rise among the country’s fully vaccinated population, which includes the 30% who have received booster injections.
Nonetheless, Biden will warn Americans that individuals who have been vaccinated and follow the instructions for wearing masks, especially when travelling, should be able to enjoy the holidays as planned.
According to a Reuters count, 19 instances increased by 9% in the last week, but are up 57 percent since the beginning of December.
The number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals has risen by 26% this month, with hospitals in some locations already overburdened by the Delta form, which debuted earlier this year.
Since the pandemic began, the country has reported about 51 million illnesses and 809,268 coronavirus-related fatalities, the most of any country.
