US President Joe Biden told Americans that the emergence of the omicron variant of Covid-19, which the World Health Organization says poses a “very high” global risk, is “cause for concern, not a cause for panic”.
“The best protection ... is getting fully vaccinated, and getting a booster shot,” he said, adding that officials are developing “contingency plans” with drug manufacturers for additional vaccines and “booster” doses “if needed”.
His comments during an address to the nation on 29 November echo those from Dr Anthony Fauci, who urged Americans not to be “freaking out” about the variant as scientists gather data over the next two weeks to determine its transmissibility and health impacts.
“We should be doing the things that we know work when you’re dealing with a pandemic virus,” he told CBS on Monday.
President Biden said the virus will be fought “not with shutdowns, not with lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing, and more.”
He added that the vaccines and boosters would remain “free of charge” to Americans; more than 196 million Americans, or nearly 60 per cent of the US population, has received both doses of two-dose Covid-19 vaccines from either Pfizer or Moderna, or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
More than 37 million Americans have received a “booster” vaccine dose, including more than 42 per cent of Americans over age 65. Nearly 70 per cent of the US has received at least one dose.
The latest variant has not yet been detected in the US, though the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is likely to be “identified quickly” if so.
Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said there is “reason to be pretty optimistic” against the emergence of the omicron variant among those who are vaccinated against Covid-19.
“All of the other variants that have emerged during this Covid-19 pandemic have shown response to the vaccine, including delta,” Dr Collins said on on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday.
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