Biden Plans to Deploy Military, Distribute 500 Million Tests Amid COVID-19 Omicron Wave

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

President Joe Bidenโ€™s administration is planning to mail out some 500 million COVID-19 tests, starting in January, according to the White House.

The White House on Tuesday said it will send the test kits to homes as part of an effort to deal with the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday said accounts for about 73 percent of cases in the United States. Itโ€™s not clear yet whether the variant causes more severe disease than previous variants, although fewer than a dozen deaths have been reported worldwide.

โ€œToday, the President is announcing his Administration will purchase a half-billion at-home, rapid tests this winter to be distributed for free to Americans who want them, with the initial delivery starting in January 2022,โ€ the White House said in a press statement.

Additional federal test sites will also be set up across the United States in the coming days, starting in New York City, according to the White House, in a bid to help โ€œstates that need additional testing capacity.โ€

Tuesdayโ€™s announcement appears to reverse a previous White House position on COVID-19 testing. White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier this month told reporters that the administration wonโ€™t be mailing test kits to every home.

In the press release, the White House confirmed it will send 1,000 members of the military such as military doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical personnel to hospitals in January and February.

Six emergency response teams with more than 100 staff members are also being sent to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Vermont, said the White House. Meanwhile, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response teams will be sent to add capacity to hospitals in some states, and the federal government is โ€œpaying for all of it,โ€ the statement added.

โ€œThis is on top of the 300 federal medical personnel that we have deployed since we learned about Omicron,โ€ the news release said.

The CDC Monday reported that Omicron is rapidly spreading and may be the dominant variant in the country, representing some 73 percent of sequenced U.S. cases. The Delta strain, which emerged earlier this year, makes up about 26.6 percent of infections, while just a week before that, Delta represented 87 percent of cases.

Authorities in South Africa, where Omicron is first believed to have emerged, reported late last week that the hospitalization rate for Omicron patients is about one-tenth of the hospitalization rate that was seen during the early phase of the Delta wave. New York Cityโ€™s chief medical official, Dr. Dave Chokshi, made a similar statement.

โ€œRight now, there are about a thousand people hospitalized with COVID-19 across New York City. Thatโ€™s about a quarter of where we were at the peak of last winterโ€™s wave and less than a tenth of where we were in the spring of 2020,โ€ Chokshi said on Monday, blaming the rise in infections on the โ€œOmicron wave.โ€

On Tuesday evening, Biden is slated to make a televised announcement about the initiative. During a news conference Monday, Psaki said the president will not call for additional lockdowns or stay-at-home orders.

Byย Jack Phillips

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

ChatGPT Goes Biblical about End Times!

There are some truly outstanding internet content creators, or...

Bangkok Indians: โ€˜You Are Lucky Manโ€™

In Bangkok, friendly prostitutes outside โ€œmassageโ€ shops tell me Iโ€™m โ€œso handsome man.โ€ Indian men prowling those streets tell me Iโ€™m โ€œlucky man.โ€

Epsteinโ€™s Niece Exposes the Illuminati!

There is a shocking interview by the podcaster Shaun Attwood, an English former ecstasy trafficker turned YouTube podcaster, speaker, activist, and author.

When Gynocrats Attack: Innocent Locker Room Talk Interrupted By Rabid Karen

The question posed: โ€œWho do you think has a...

Obamaโ€™s Treason is a Betrayal of American Democracy and Demands Real Accountability

Few scandals have cast a longer shadow than the 2016 Russia investigationโ€”the manufactured crisis by President Obama designed to cripple Trump's presidency.

Trumps America: Welpโ€ฆ that backfired.

The official @TheDemocrats account posted chart with the caption โ€œTrumpโ€™s Americaโ€ โ€” but didnโ€™t seem to notice how their own graph actually works.

Education Department to Release Billions in Withheld Grant Money for Schools

Dept. of Education said OMB completed a review of 2025 public education allocations โ€œand will begin dispersing funds to the states next week.โ€

Judge Maintains Nationwide Block on Trumpโ€™s Birthright Citizenship Order

A federal judge in Massachusetts has maintained his nationwide block on President Donald Trumpโ€™s policy restricting birthright citizenship.

COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerated Brain Aging Even in People Who Didnโ€™t Get Virus: Study

Brain aging appears to have accelerated by months during COVID-19 pandemic, even in people who did not get sick from the virus, according to study.

Ex-DOJ Officials File Lawsuit Against Bondi Over Terminations

Former DOJ officials filed lawsuit against AG Bondi and the fed. govt, saying they were terminated for work on cases related to Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Odds of U.S.-EU Trade Deal Are 50โ€“50 Ahead of Tariff Deadline: Trump

President Donald Trump said thereโ€™s a 50โ€“50 chance that the United States will finalize a trade deal with the European Union before an Aug. 1 deadline.

Trump Pulls Habbaโ€™s Nomination for New Jerseyโ€™s Top Prosecutor, Making Her Acting US Attorney

President Trump withdrew his nomination of Alina Habba to serve as NJโ€™s top federal prosecutor, making her Acting US Attorney.

Trump Says He Wants Muskโ€™s Companies to โ€˜Thrive Like Never Beforeโ€™

On Thursday, President Trump said, โ€œI want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before!โ€
spot_img

Related Articles