Saying “We have the tools to protect ourselves and battle this virus, and I’m laying out a plan to do just that this winter,” President Joe Biden laid out his plans for addressing the coronavirus and the new omicron variant during the coming months in an editorial in USA Today.
“We are going to fight COVID-19 not with shutdowns or lockdowns – but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more,” Biden writes. “We will beat it back with science and speed, not chaos and confusion – just as we did in the spring and again with the more powerful delta variant in the summer and fall.”
Biden stated that the Administration will continue to push for wider adoption of vaccines and already-vaccinated people taking boosters. He also said his administration would add additional “Surge Response Teams,” teams of medical professionals who can quickly be sent to areas of high infections to help local providers and public health officials.
Biden also noted the upcoming availability of anti-viral medications that are being developed as a way of reducing the virus’s impact and help treat infected people. He also committed the United States to provide vaccines and medication to countries around the world, saying “In order to beat this pandemic at home, we have to beat this pandemic globally.”