In a virtual meeting with several state governors and health advisers, the president stressed that the rapid spread of the coronavirus omicron will not have the same impact as the initial Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 or the delta wave this year.
Biden acknowledged that the omicron form was a cause for concern, but stressed that it should not cause panic.
The availability of Covid-19 tests and mass vaccination means that for many people, infection does not lead to serious illness and the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients is not rising as fast as before.
“Americans, America has made progress. The situation is better,” Biden said.
However, he noted that tens of millions of people have still not been vaccinated and that the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients is increasing.
Biden said there are hospitals that will be overcrowded and will lack both staff and equipment.
In absolute terms, the United States has the highest number of Covid-19 victims in the world. More than 816,000 people have died from the disease in the United States.
He also acknowledged that testing, although much more widespread, was still insufficient.
Biden said his administration was working to expand free testing and promote the availability of home tests.
“When we took office, there was none. None. We now have eight types on the market,” Biden said of home tests.
The government will buy 500 million to distribute such tests to Americans.
“It’s not enough. It’s obviously not enough. (..) We need to do more,” the president said.
