PRESIDENT Joe Biden on Monday pledged that the U.S. is not returning to lockdown mitigation measures as it prepares for the omicron COVID-19 variant, urging calm as much remains unknown about the strain that sparked worldwide concern in a matter of days over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“We do not yet believe that additional measures will be needed,” Biden said in prepared remarks delivered from the White House, wasting no time in addressing the nation on the emerging threat as Americans return to school and work. When asked if lockdowns are off the table, Biden said: “Yes, for now.”
He added that lockdown scenarios shouldn’t be needed because “if people are vaccinated and wear their mask, there’s no need for the lockdown.” He insisted it is a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”
“We have the best vaccine in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists, and we’re learning more every single day,” he said. “We’ll fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed, not chaos and confusion.”
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Omicron is just the latest test for the Biden administration, which has been striving for a return to normalcy in the U.S. for the holiday season while coronavirus cases remain elevated.
The World Health Organization named omicron a variant of concern on Friday, leading several nations, including the U.S., to restrict travel from South Africa, where the variant was first detected.
Biden said he does not anticipate banning travel from other countries where the variant has been detected.
“The degree of the spread impacts on whether or not there is a need for any travel restriction, but I don’t anticipate that at this point,” Biden said.
It remains unclear whether the omicron variant is deadlier than other strains or if it spreads more easily. It’s also unknown how well COVID-19 vaccines will stand up to the variant.
But while available data on the variant is limited, WHO said it has a high likelihood of potential spread at the global level, “given mutations that may confer immune escape potential and possibly transmissibility advantage.”
Omicron has not yet been detected in the U.S., though leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said it is “inevitable” that the variant will turn up in the country.
Biden said that Fauci has indicated he believes the COVID-19 vaccines will provide “at least some protection” against the variant. But the administration is working with Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to develop a contingency plan if a shot specifically targeted against omicron becomes needed.
- USNEWS
