Anthony Fauci (right), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, speaks with President Biden after a meeting of the COVID-19 response team at the White House on Monday.
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Anthony Fauci (right), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, speaks with President Biden after a meeting of the COVID-19 response team at the White House on Monday.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
President Biden said Monday that while Travel restrictions apply to tourists from some South African countries will slow the entry of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, “it can’t be prevented.”
“Sooner or later, we will see cases,” he said in a speech to the American people.
Biden added: “This variation is cause for concern – not cause for panic.”
He reiterated calls for Americans to get vaccinated as a way to protect themselves against COVID-19.
“The best protection against this or any variant available is complete vaccination and booster shots,” he said.
Biden said scientists do not think further measures will be needed to combat the new variant, but he added that his administration is working with vaccine manufacturers to develop a vaccine or rocket. push against omicron if needed.
He said he would also direct the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “use the fastest process available without cutting off any corners to be safe” to This vaccine is approved and placed on the market.
He said that scientific adviser Dr Anthony Fauci believes current vaccines at least provide some protection against serious illness.
President dismisses need for another lockdown to limit spread of omicrons
The president’s comments come the same day his administration’s new travel restrictions went into effect in response to the omicron variation.
“We’re throwing everything we can at this virus,” Biden said.
Biden said COVID-19 cannot be defeated until the rest of the world is vaccinated, and he urged countries with ample vaccines to supply those that do not.
“The Delta variants, and now the omicron variants, are all present in other parts of the world. So we can’t just ignore it until the world is vaccinated,” he said.
The president also dismissed the need for another shutdown to limit the spread of the virus.
“If everyone is vaccinated and wears masks, there is no need to lock the doors,” he said.
When asked if he expected the spread and response to the new variant to be the “new normal,” Biden said no, and said he expected the new normal to be “everyone in the end.” vaccination” and with a booster shot, and to reduce the number of people unprotected to “so low that we don’t see the spread of these viruses.”
