As US faces new COVID variant, calls for patience and prudence
One week after the omicron variant was publicly identified, the message from American political leaders and public health officials has been consistent: Be watchful, but not alarmed.
The new coronavirus variant, about which much is still unknown, is “cause for concern but not panic,” President Joe Biden said Thursday from the National Institutes of Health. The president promised to fight the new variant “with science and speed, not chaos and confusion.”
Many of the new announced Thursday aimed at combating both the delta and omicron strains of the virus this winter build largely on existing government strategies. They include urging vaccination and boosters, expanding the supply of at-home COVID-19 tests and making them reimbursable through private insurance, and strengthening testing protocols for all inbound international
