Joe Biden urges calm, not alarm as US smashes global Covid-19 record and Omicron runs rampant
- Biden addresses nation after US reports 1 million new Covid-19 cases in a day
- Soaring Omicron could lead to more dangerous variants, WHO official warns
In remarks before a meeting with his Covid-19 response team at the White House on Tuesday, Biden aimed to convey his administration’s urgency in addressing Omicron and convince wary Americans that the current situation bears little resemblance to the onset of the pandemic or last year’s deadly winter.
The president emphasised that vaccines, booster shots and therapeutic drugs have lessened the danger for the overwhelming majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated.
“You can still get Covid, but it’s highly unlikely, very unlikely, that you’ll become seriously ill,” Biden said of vaccinated people.
More than 35 million people in the United States have still yet to be vaccinated despite the availability of vaccine supplies.
Omicron’s rates of deaths and hospitalisations have been lower across the world, raising hopes the virus could be evolving into a relatively benign seasonal illness.
But the World Health Organization in Europe sounded an ominous note of caution, warning the soaring infection rates could have the opposite effect.