President Joe Biden announced additional COVID-19 support amid a spread in cases due to the Omicron variant. The video above shows clips from the announcement. The variant first arrived in the United States at the beginning of the month. In the last two weeks, new cases in the U.S. are up 20%, according to the latest COVID-19 numbers from the New York Times.
Biden’s announcement comes a day after the health department in the county that contains Houston, Texas reported what is widely believed to be the first death connected to the Omicron variant in the U.S. According to Harris County Public Health (HCPH), the man was between 50 and 60 years old and unvaccinated. He had been infected with COVID-19 previously, and he had underlying health conditions.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the patient’s family, and we extend our deepest sympathies,” HCPH Executive Barbie Robinson said in a statement. “This is a reminder of the severity of COVID-19 and its variants.”
According to a background press call previewing Biden’s speech, the COVID-19 support Biden announced falls into three main categories:
- Increasing support for hospitals
- Increasing access to free testing
- Expanding vaccination accessibility
To help with hospitals, a senior administration official said Biden is directing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to mobilize 1,000 military medical personnel to deploy to overburdened hospitals in January and February. The White House is also working on making plans to expand hospital capacity.
“The President has asked the FEMA Administrator to activate the National Response Coordination Center and to deploy FEMA planners to assess hospital needs and start to expand that capacity now,” the administration official said. “Additionally, we will pre-position critical supplies and materials needed to shorten timelines to get more hospital beds online and keep staff safe.”
To support COVID-19 testing, the official said more federal testing sites will be set up across the country. Biden is also set to purchase 500 million at-home rapid tests.
“The initial delivery of these tests from the manufacturer will be in January, and we will be setting up a website where Americans can go to get at-home tests delivered to their home for free,” the officials said.
As for vaccination accessibility, the official said “FEMA is standing up new pop-up vaccination clinics” and “deploying hundreds of additional federal vaccinators who will help add thousands of appointments each week.”
