President Biden stated Friday that Americans will have to be taught to stay with COVID-19 long-term however that issues will “be better” — regardless of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky warning that US coronavirus circumstances are poised to hit new document highs nearly two years into the pandemic.
Biden erroneously instructed reporters his crew is within the technique of buying “500,000” exams to combat the extremely contagious Omicron variant, misstating the precise determine of 500 million.
“Is COVID here to stay?” NBC News reporter Peter Alexander requested Biden on the White House earlier than the president departed to tour wildfire harm in Colorado.
“No. I don’t think COVID is here to stay, but having COVID in the environment here and in the world is probably here to stay,” Biden stated. “But COVID, as we’re dealing with it now, is not here to stay.”
Biden, who vowed to “shut down the virus” throughout his presidential marketing campaign, famous that “we have so many, many more tools we’re developing and continuing to develop that can contain COVID and other strains of COVID” and added that “the new normal is not going to be what it is now; it’s going to be better.”
President Biden says that COVID is probably going to keep within the setting, however that America has the instruments to make sure the “new normal” will be higher than the current. REUTERS
Biden spoke as faculties once more closed in Chicago, Atlanta and different main cities due to the highest-ever charges of COVID-19 circumstances.
“If you take a look, we’re very different today than we were a year ago, even though we still have problems,” he stated. “But 90 percent of the schools are open now. It was 98, it’s down to 90 that’s open now because we spent the time and the money in the recovery act to provide for the ability for schools to remain open.”
The president continued: “We talk about, you know, how we’re dealing with testing. Well, you know, we have been doing now — we’ve 300 million tests per month so far, and that’s 11 million tests a day. In addition to that, we’ve — we’re in the process of ordering 500,000 new tests. And so, we’re going to be able to control this.”
President Biden boasted of conducting 11 million exams for COVID per day, and has promised to mail 500 million exams to Americans’ properties — however contracts are but to be finalized. REUTERS
Three weeks in the past, the White House stated Biden would mass-mail 500 million at-home COVID-19 exams as infections surged. But the Biden administration has not acquired the exams nor launched an internet site for individuals to request them — and it’s unclear in the event that they will arrive in time to handle the Omicron wave.
White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated Friday on Air Force One that “last night we issued our first letter award to provide tests toward this half a billion,” however she declined to title the take a look at producer and it was unclear if the contract was finalized.
Jean-Pierre stated the web site to request exams is being labored on by “teams across government — they’re looking at equity, accessibility, capacity and logistics.” The White House has not divulged key particulars, such because the variety of exams every family can request.
Retailers like CVS Pharmacy have offered out of at-home take a look at kits at some places and big traces have fashioned at official testing websites, forcing FEMA to open federally run take a look at websites in hard-hit areas.
Next week, a beforehand introduced Biden rule will take impact requiring medical health insurance corporations to reimburse policyholders for fast exams that they purchase themselves. Another 50 million fast exams are within the technique of being shipped by the federal authorities to native clinics free of charge distribution.
The White House reportedly rejected an knowledgeable plan in October to mass-distribute at-home fast exams forward of a attainable vacation surge in COVID-19 circumstances. But Biden belatedly embraced the concept late final month as circumstances elevated.
The extra contagious Omicron variant has induced infections to surge far above prior viral waves — though 78.7 % of all Americans ages 5 and up have had no less than one vaccine shot, in accordance to CDC knowledge.
On Monday, a record-breaking 958,000 individuals examined constructive for COVID-19, in accordance to the CDC — blowing away final winter’s peak of 294,000 new circumstances on Jan. 8, 2021. The true charge of an infection is believed to be a lot larger as a result of many individuals are asymptomatic or don’t report the outcomes of at-home fast exams to authorities.
President Biden stated 90% of colleges stay open due to his efforts. Schools in Chicago and Atlanta just lately shut down over the Omicron spike. AP
Preliminary knowledge point out that Omicron signs are much less extreme, however hospitalization charges are up dramatically throughout the nation. As of Thursday, there have been about 126,000 US hospital sufferers with COVID-19 — suggesting the determine might quickly surpass the prior hospitalization document of 133,000 sufferers final January.
Meanwhile, Walensky instructed NBC’s “Today” present Friday morning that whereas the unfold of Omicron might have peaked in international locations like South Africa, “I don’t believe we’ve seen that peak here in the United States.”
