Biden pivots to home tests to confront omicron surge

WASHINGTON (AP) —
Fighting the omicron variant surging through the United States, President Joe Biden has announced that the government will provide 500 million free rapid home-testing kits, increase support for hospitals under strain and redouble vaccination and boosting efforts.

At the White House on Tuesday, Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are not yet fully understood by scientists.

Yet his message was clear that the winter holidays could be close to normal for the vaccinated while potentially dangerous for the unvaccinated.

His pleas are not political, he emphasised.

Biden noted that former President Donald Trump has gotten his booster shot, and he said it's Americans' “patriotic duty” to get vaccinated.

“It's the only responsible thing to do,” the president said.

“Omicron is serious and potentially deadly business for unvaccinated people.”

Biden chastised social media and people on cable TV who have made misleading statements to discourage people from getting vaccinated.

The outbreak from this latest strain of the coronavirus has required the federal government to get more aggressive in addressing the wave of infections, but Biden promised a weary nation that there would not be a mass lockdown of schools or businesses.

“I know you're tired, and I know you're frustrated. We all want this to be over. But we're still in it,” Biden said.

“We also have more tools than we had before. We're ready, we'll get through this.”

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com