The White House’s moves come a few days after Biden defended travel restrictions for south African nations where omicron was first detected and a day after the variant was first reported in the United States. The actions follow Biden’s pledge earlier this week to combat the pandemic this winter without a repeat of last year’s shutdowns to businesses and schools.
“We have more tools today to fight the omicron variant than we have had to fight previous variants, including delta,” the White House said in a statement Thursday. “Nearly 60% of Americans are fully vaccinated, booster shots are authorized for all adults and a vaccine is authorized for kids aged 5 and older. The U.S. is leading the world in vaccinating children, and millions of Americans have already gotten their boosters. And, the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing additional antiviral treatments for when people do get sick.”
Biden, who on Monday described omicron as a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” plans to give remarks at the National Institutes of Health at around 1:40 p.m. Thursday.
Among the plans are new steps to ensure almost 100 million vaccinated Americans can quickly get booster shots, including expanded capacity at pharmacies, education and outreach among Medicare beneficiaries, rides to booster sites by AARP, and calling on employers to give paid time off for those seeking a booster.
Biden will also announce plans to launch “hundreds of family vaccination clinics across the country,” the White House said, relying on community health centers, pharmacies and mobile clinics established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the coming weeks will also release new findings on quarantine and testing policies in schools, with an emphasis on “test to stay” policies to let exposed students stay in class by wearing masks and testing frequently.
The president plans to enable those covered by private insurance to get reimbursed when they buy at-home tests, and to also use community health centers and rural clinics to distribute more at-home tests. By Jan. 15, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury will issue guidance that makes over-the-counter diagnostic tests reimbursable through group health plans and health insurers.
The Biden administration said it has invested more than $2 billion to boost the production of rapid tests and that it’s on track “to quadruple the supply of rapid at-home tests that we had in late summer.”
Biden will also call for strengthened public health protocols for travelers, including mask requirements across public transit through mid-March, with minimum noncompliance fines of $500 and up to $3,000 for repeat offenders. Starting next week, all inbound international travels must test negative within one day before departing to the U.S., regardless of nationality or vaccination status, providing “an added degree of public health protection as scientists continue to assess the omicron variant,” the White House said.
Biden will mobilize more than 60 winter COVID-19 emergency response teams, made available to help states combat rises in new cases. The teams will include Department of Defense and National Disaster Medical System personnel to support understaffed hospitals, CDC experts to investigate outbreaks and provide technical support, and monoclonal antibody strike teams.
The federal government will bolster the Medical Reserve Corps of medical and public health volunteers with $20 million in funding, and HHS will continue efforts to call on retired doctors and nurses to pitch in and help in outbreak regions.
The U.S. has already seen rising case totals and hospitalizations over the last month, including in Massachusetts and other parts of New England.
The administration plans to secure and distribute 13 million antiviral pills and to donate more than 1.2 billion vaccine doses globally.
As he did earlier in the week, Biden will note that his team is working closely with vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to quickly research the omicron variant and develop new vaccines and boosters if necessary, the White House said.
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- First US case of the omicron COVID variant identified in California
- Omicron COVID variant ‘cause for concern, not panic,’ President Joe Biden says, urging Americans to get vaccines and booster shots
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