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Jan. 13, 2022 — President Joe Biden introduced Thursday the U.S. authorities will make free, upgraded face masks accessible for ordering on-line beginning subsequent week.
As well as, he’s ordering 500 million extra fast COVID-19 checks to fulfill future demand and deploying extra navy groups to assist overwhelmed hospitals in hardest-hit states.
These actions are a part of a “whole-of-government” response to the surge in COVID-19 circumstances and hospitalizations related to the Omicron variant.
Upgraded Masks
Biden’s plan goals to make getting upgraded masks simpler for People.
“I’ve taken each motion I can as president to require individuals to put on masks in federal buildings and on airplanes and trains,” the president mentioned. Nevertheless, “I do know that for some People, a masks shouldn’t be at all times inexpensive or handy to get.”
With that in thoughts, subsequent week, the White Home will announce how individuals can order high-quality masks, together with N95s, on-line, totally free, on a brand new web site.
Biden estimated that about one-third of People say they by no means put on a masks, a statistic he is hoping to vary.
The president additionally acknowledged the pandemic fatigue many individuals have.
“All of us want that we might lastly be completed with carrying masks, I get it,” he mentioned. “However they’re a extremely necessary instrument to cease the unfold, particularly [of] the extremely transmittable Omicron variant.”
One Billion Assessments
Within the 10-minute deal with, Biden additionally introduced plans to order 500 million extra at-home fast COVID-19 checks to fulfill demand. The order comes on high of the five hundred million checks the federal government already ordered.
Doing the maths, the president famous the present and future provide means there can be a billion checks “being acquired to ship to your properties totally free.”
Biden additionally identified that fast at-home checks weren’t accessible when he took workplace. In distinction, “we’ll have over 375 million at-home fast checks in January alone. That is an enormous leap,” he mentioned.
Within the meantime, his administration will work with on-line retailers to make extra checks accessible. Additionally, for any American who needs a check immediately, the Federal Emergency Administration Company is including extra free, in-person testing websites nationwide.
Extra Army Backup
“I am saying our subsequent deployment of six extra federal medical groups,” Biden mentioned. These reinforcements embrace greater than 120 navy medical personnel being despatched to hard-hit states, together with Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
These navy personnel will be part of different groups already in motion.
Since Thanksgiving, over 800 navy and different federal emergency personnel have been deployed to 24 states, tribes, and territories, Biden famous. The numbers included greater than 350 navy medical doctors, nurses, and medics to assist overwhelmed hospital workers. As well as, greater than 14,000 Nationwide Guard members are already deployed to assist health care staff are in 49 states.
Vaccination Stays High Precedence
Getting extra People vaccinated and boosted stays a precedence, notably through the Omicron surge.
“Proper now, each vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are testing constructive. However what occurs after that would not be extra completely different,” Biden mentioned. “If vaccinated individuals check constructive, they’re overwhelmingly have both no signs in any respect or they’ve delicate signs.”
In distinction, when an unvaccinated individual checks constructive, they’re greater than 17 instances extra more likely to get hospitalized, he mentioned.
“So long as we have now tens of hundreds of thousands of people that is not going to get vaccinated, we’ll have full hospitals and pointless deaths. They’re crowding the hospitals, leaving little room for anybody else who may need a heart attack, automobile accident, or any damage in any respect,” Biden mentioned.
One brilliant spot to date with the Omicron surge is, regardless of the leap in case and hospitalization numbers, he mentioned, “deaths are down dramatically from final winter.”
Uniting In opposition to a Frequent Enemy
Biden mentioned America will “get by way of this when all people does their half, irrespective of the place you reside, irrespective of your political get together.”
Additional acknowledging the political divide influencing COVID-19 response and numbers, he mentioned: “We have a struggle this collectively. We have started working collectively. Not towards one another.”
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