WASHINGTON, Dec 21 Reuters - The Biden administration will open federal COVID 19 testing sites in New York City this week and buy 500 million at-home rapid tests that Americans can order online for free starting in January as it tries to tackle the Omicron variant that is sweeping the country.
President Joe Biden will make a statement on Tuesday about the risks associated with the fast-spreading variant, https: www.reuters.com, in order to be more dire about the risks to the one in four American adults who remain unvaccinated. com world us omicron-fueled covid wave crashes-into new-york days-before christmas 2021 -- 12 - 20, a senior administration official said.
The measures include activating 1,000 military medical personnel to support hospitals that are already overwhelmed in some areas.
If you are notvaccinated, you are at high risk of getting sick. The vaccination variant is highly transmissible and the unvaccinated are eight times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from COVID, the official said.
With the holiday travel season already beginning, new COVID 19 cases are rising in the United States, prompting local and federal officials to confront how far away they are going to go to fight the disease. Federal officials said that Omicron now accounts for 73% of all new cases, up from less than 1% at the beginning of the month.
The U.S. is considering reducing the recommended 10 day quarantine time for people who catch COVID to help asymptomatic people return to work or school, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
Health officials in Texas said on Monday that the state recorded what ABC News reported was the first known U.S. death related to Omicron.
The highly contagious variant is https: www.reuters. Healthcare-pharmaceuticals appear-no -- less-severe than-delta covid -- 19 -- lowers-sperm count - 2021 -- 20 - 20 was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong last month, and has been reported in 89 countries, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.
In New York, Washington and other U.S. cities, lines for COVID- 19 tests were wrapped around the block as people clamored to find out if they had been infected before the holidays.
Biden is going to announce on Tuesday that the federal government will buy 500 million at- home quick tests and make them available to all Americans in January, despite criticism that testing resources are inadequate.
Americans can get a new website to have them delivered, but officials are still working on how many tests a household can request.
The administration will open multiple federal testing centers in New York City ahead of Christmas, a senior administration official said.
The official said more federal sites would be opened across the country in areas of high need and when requested by local and state officials.
Biden's response to COVID 19 has been criticized at https: www.reuters. Com world us rising case omicron-highlight holes-bidens-covid-strategy experts say -- 2021 -- 12 -- 20 for focusing on vaccines at the detriment of testing and masking, and underestimating the impact of the politically motivated anti-vaccine movement in the U.S.
The free tests are part of a plan to have health insurers give free tests for Americans with coverage that are expected to begin in January.
Biden will note that the Omicron variant is so contagious that it will infect vaccinated Americans, but that they will be less likely to get seriously sick.
More than 61% of the country's fully vaccinated population are getting booster shots, which is a cause of breakthrough infections.
Biden will tell Americans that those who are vaccinated and follow guidance around using masks should feel comfortable celebrating the holidays as planned.
The New COVID 19 cases in the United States increased by 9% in the past week, but they are up 57% since the start of December, according to a Reuters tally.
The number of hospitalized COVID 19 patients has increased by 26% this month, with hospitals in some areas already strained by the Delta variant that emerged earlier this year.
There have been almost 51 million infections and 809,268 deaths related to the coronaviruses in the country since the epidemic began, the most of any country.