President Joe Biden called on Americans Monday not to panic over the new COVID-19 variant of Omicron, stating that the United States is working with drug companies to establish contingency plans in the event that new vaccines are needed.
Biden said the country will not return to lockdown measures to stop the spread of Omicron and he will set out its strategy to fight the pandemic over the winter on Thursday. He called on people to get vaccinations, get boosters, and wear masks.
"This variant is a cause for concern, but not a reason to panic," Biden said at the White House after meeting his COVID-19 team.
"We will fight and defeat this new variant," he said.
Omicron has led countries around the world, including the United States, to restrict travel from southern Africa, where the virus was first discovered. The World Health Organization said on Monday that there was a very high risk of flare-ups, but that no deaths had yet been linked to the new variant.
Biden said it was inevitable that Omicron cases would crop up in the United States. However, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the variant shouldn't induce Americans to change their vacation plans while they are vaccinated and wearing masks.
Biden said he believed the existing vaccines would continue to protect against serious illness, but added that his administration has worked with vaccine makers Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) work together to develop contingency plans.
"In the hopefully unlikely event that updated vaccinations or booster vaccinations are needed to respond to this new variant, we will expedite its development and deployment by whatever means available," he said.
Biden said he would instruct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make these vaccines quickly available.
Separately, the CDC stated that all vaccinated Americans aged 18 and over should be given a booster shot - a stricter recommendation than last week when the agency expanded the booster shot to all adults but didn't say everyone should get it.
An entry ban came into force in the United States on Monday, excluding most visitors from eight countries in southern Africa. On previous flights from South Africa to the United States, passengers were not screened after the variant was found.
The White House will not curtail Biden's travel plans or cancel its Christmas parties, Psaki said.
Biden said the travel restrictions were put in place to give the country time to vaccinate more people.
Reluctance to vaccinate in the United States and around the world has thwarted health officials' efforts to get the pandemic under control. Only a quarter of the population of South Africa is fully vaccinated, while in many western European countries more than two thirds of the population are vaccinated.
Only 59% of Americans are fully vaccinated, although nearly 70% have now received at least one vaccination.
Nearly 782,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States, according to a Reuters count.
US government officials were required to get vaccinated by November 22, but the White House told federal authorities on Monday that they can postpone punishing those who fail to do so.
Much of the United States was paralyzed at the start of the pandemic in early 2020, but economic activity and employment have recovered in recent months. Face masks and vaccination regulations are opposed by some Republican politicians, despite health experts touting their effectiveness.
