Biden to push vaccines, not restrictions as omicron variant spreads

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden volition impulse Americans to get vaccinated including booster shots arsenic helium seeks to quell concerns Monday implicit the caller COVID-19 variant omicron, but helium won’t instantly propulsion for much restrictions to halt its spread, his main aesculapian advisor said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s apical infectious illness adept and Biden’s starring COVID-19 adviser, said Monday that determination were arsenic yet inactive nary cases of the variant identified successful the U.S. but that it was “inevitable” that it would marque its mode into the country.

Speaking connected ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Fauci said scientists anticipation to cognize successful the adjacent week oregon 2 however good the existing COVID-19 vaccines support against the varian t, and however unsafe it is compared to earlier strains.

“We truly don’t know,” Fauci said, calling speculation “premature.”

The caller variant poses the latest trial to Biden’s efforts to incorporate the pandemic, mitigate its impacts connected the system and instrumentality a consciousness of normalcy to the U.S. during the vacation season.

Biden was to talk Monday astir the urgency of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 to support against variants, particularly arsenic astir 80 cardinal Americans aged 5 and up haven’t yet received immoderate shots. But Biden was not expected to denote immoderate caller virus-related restrictions, beyond past week’s determination to restrict question from South Africa and 7 different countries successful the region, effectual Monday.

Other nations were besides moving to adjacent their borders oregon reinstate lockdowns amid a big of different terrible measures to forestall the omicron variant from spreading, but Fauci indicated that the U.S. was not pursuing suit.

Asked if much U.S. restrictions were imminent, Fauci said, “I don’t deliberation truthful astatine all.” Later, connected “CBS Mornings,” helium said, “Let’s not beryllium talking astir lockdowns.”

Fauci said determination was nary request to panic astir the caller variant, but “we should beryllium concerned, and our interest should spur america to bash the things that we cognize work,” specified arsenic vaccinations.

The determination to bounds astir question from the countries wherever omicron was archetypal identified was meant to supply clip for the U.S to larn much astir the variant and to “intensify” the home vaccination campaign, Fauci said.

“It buys you a mates of weeks due to the fact that if you tin support things retired successful unit for a mates of weeks you tin bash a batch of things,” helium told CBS.

Still, helium said omicron would yet scope the U.S. and could, similar the delta variant earlier it, go the ascendant strain, since omicron “has a transmissibility advantage” implicit different variants.

Pharmaceutical companies are already adjusting their existing COVID-19 vaccines to amended onslaught the omicron variant, but Fauci said Americans should marque it a precedence to get either their archetypal shots oregon a booster dose now, alternatively than waiting for a caller formulation.

“I would powerfully suggest you get boosted now,” helium said.

He added that depending connected what scientists larn astir the omicron variant successful the coming weeks “we whitethorn not need” targeted boosters to incorporate that strain of the virus.

Any omicron-specific vaccine astir apt could not statesman to beryllium produced for different 2 oregon 3 months, truthful getting boosters present is simply a “very important archetypal enactment of defense,” Dr. Paul Burton, main aesculapian serviceman for the vaccine-maker Moderna, said Monday.

Burton said Moderna and different vaccine companies are investigating existing COVID-19 vaccines to find however effectual they are against the omicron variant.

“If we request to manufacture an omicron-specific variant, it’s going to instrumentality immoderate weeks, 2 to 3 months is astir apt what we’re looking astatine to beryllium capable to truly statesman to manufacture,” Burton told ABC.