President Joe Biden emphasized vaccines and masks Monday as the country’s best options for combating the omicron strain of the coronavirus and claimed that his forthcoming strategy for mitigating COVID-19 spread this winter would not include new “shutdowns or lockdowns.”
The World Health Organization labeled omicron a “variant of concern” over the weekend, and Biden’s remarks come just days after his administration restricted travel to the states from South Africa, the variant’s country of origin, and a handful of other African nations.
US RESTRICTS TRAVEL IN RESPONSE TO NEW COVID-19 STRAIN
Biden said in televised remarks that the new travel restrictions “cannot prevent” omicron from spreading to the United States but will give the country “time to take more actions, to move quicker, to make sure people understand you have to get your vaccine.”
“We’re learning more about this new variant every single day. And as we learn more, we’re gonna share that information with the American people,” the president continued. “I know you’re tired of me saying this, the best protection against this new variant or any of the variants out there, ones we’ve been dealing with already, is getting fully vaccinated and getting a booster shot.”
“Do not wait. Go get your booster if it’s time for you to do so,” Biden stated. “And if you are not vaccinated, now’s the time to get vaccinated and take your children to be vaccinated. Every child age 5 or older can get safe, effective vaccines now.”
The president additionally stated that on Thursday, he will release a new “detailed strategy” for combating the coronavirus this winter, “not with shutdowns or lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing, and more.”
“I will always make sure our people are protected first,” he said. “But vaccinating the world is just one more tool in how we need to meet our moral obligation as Americans and best protect Americans as well.”
During his speech, Biden stated that Dr. Anthony Fauci, his chief medical adviser, believes it will be “a few weeks” before medical experts can determine the true efficacy of the current COVID-19 vaccines against omicron but that they believe they will “continue to provide a degree of protection against severe disease.”
The president also called on the public to wear masks as a means of mitigating community spread.
“I encourage everyone to wear a mask when they’re indoors, in a crowded circumstance like we are right now, and unless you’re eating or speaking at a microphone,” he stated. “If people are vaccinated and wear their masks, there’s no need for lockdowns.”
Fauci claimed earlier on Monday morning that while there currently aren’t any confirmed omicron cases in the country, spread to the U.S. was “inevitable.” However, he did tamp down speculation that a new surge could lead to additional lockdowns or restrictions.
“I don’t think so at all,” Fauci said of new restrictions during an interview on ABC, before adding that eligible people should “get boosted now.”
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins also said on MSNBC Monday that there is “reason to be optimistic” that current COVID-19 vaccines will be effective at combating the spread of omicron.
Pfizer, which manufactures one of the three coronavirus vaccines deemed safe by the U.S. government, announced Friday that it could develop and distribute an omicron-specific vaccine within 100 days.
“As always, we will continue to follow the science as we examine the best approaches to protecting people against COVID-19,” a company spokesman told Fox Business. “In the event that [a] vaccine-escape variant emerges, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval.”
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Johnson & Johnson, a second manufacturer of a U.S.-approved vaccine, has also begun preparing for omicron and is “already testing the effectiveness of our vaccine against the new and rapidly spreading variant first detected in southern Africa.”
