Bahrain : President Joe Biden is set to kick off a more urgent campaign for Americans to get COVID-19 booster shots Thursday as he unveils his winter plans for combating the coronavirus and its omicron variant with enhanced availability of shots and vaccines but without major new restrictions.
The plan includes a requirement for private insurers to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests and a tightening of testing requirements for people entering the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status.
But as some other nations close their borders or reimpose lockdowns, officials said Biden was not moving to impose additional restrictions beyond his recommendation that Americans wear masks indoors in public settings.
Biden traveled to the National Institutes of Health outside Washington on Thursday for a briefing on the virus with his COVID-19 response team and scientific advisers before delivering remarks outlining his strategy.
Biden said Wednesday that going forward the U.S. would fight the virus “not with shutdowns or lockdowns but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing, and more.”
The White House released details of Biden’s plan early Thursday, in advance of the speech.
The Biden administration has come to view widespread adoption of booster shots as its most effective tool for combating COVID-19 this winter. Medical experts say boosters provide enhanced and more enduring protection against COVID-19, including new variants.
“There’s a national campaign to get the 100 million eligible Americans who have not yet gotten their booster a booster,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday on CBS.
