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The White House is trying to avoid talking about isolation at all costs and, to the surprise of some, has stopped urging people to cancel travel plans, avoid public transport and the like.
“This is not a talk about locking down the country,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier on Monday. “This is a direct, revealing and outlining conversation to the American public about the benefits of getting vaccinated, the steps we’ll take to increase access, increase testing, and the risks to unvaccinated individuals.”
But officials said Mr Biden would also acknowledge that the shape of the pandemic had changed. Breakthrough Omicron infections are commonAlthough scientists believe that vaccines will protect against the worst outcomes. Many fully vaccinated and empowered people who are infected experience mild or no symptoms.
One of the officials said Mr Biden would say that if people get vaccinated and follow other public health guidelines, including wearing masks in public, they should “feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays” with their families.
But beneath the president’s reassurance notes, there is deep concern among his advisers — and public health experts — about the ability of the nation’s hospitals, which are already under great pressure, to withstand an Omicron surge. Even if the variant causes less severe disease and a relatively low percentage of those infected require hospitalization, the boom in cases means it’s still possible for hospitals to be overwhelmed, experts say.
The chief medical officer of the Association of State and Regional Health Officials, Dr. “That’s the biggest concern,” said Marcus Plescia. “If there are a lot of people who get sick, even if only a small percentage of them are seriously ill, it can still be a lot of people.”
Mr. Biden plans to direct defense secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to “prepare 1,000 additional service members, including military doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical personnel, to deploy to hospitals in January and February as needed.” To a fact sheet prepared by the White House.
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