Joe Biden warns against omicron panic

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Biden said the country would not go back to lockdowns to stop the spread of omicron, and he would lay out his strategy on Thursday for combating the pandemic over the winter. He urged people to get vaccinated, get boosters and wear masks, reports Reuters.

“This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” Biden said in remarks at the White House following a meeting with his COVID-19 team.

“We’re going to fight and beat this new variant,” he said.

Biden said it was inevitable that omicron cases, which were first detected in southern Africa, would emerge in the United States. He said officials were still studying omicron but believed that existing vaccines would continue to protect against severe disease.

Biden said his administration was working with vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop contingency plans.

“In the event, hopefully unlikely, that updated vaccinations or boosters are needed to respond to this new variant, we will accelerate their development and deployment with every available tool,” he said.

Biden said he would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to “use the fastest process available without cutting any corners for safety to get such vaccines approved and on the market if needed.”

A US travel ban took effect earlier on Monday blocking most visitors from eight southern African nations from entering the country. Earlier flights from South Africa to the US did not screen passengers after the variant was found.

Biden said the travel restrictions were put in place to give the country time to get more people vaccinated.