‘We have more work to do’ on COVID-19 test shortage, says Biden

Biden and his Covid-19 Response Team (Covid-19 Response co-ordinator Jeff Zients, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci) hold their regular call with the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium at the White House.

US: US President Joe Biden has pledged to ease a shortage of coronavirus (COVID-19) tests as the Omicron variant spreads across US states this holiday week, threatening to overwhelm hospitals and stifle travel plans.

He said the administration’s steps include using a law called the Defence Production Act to increase production of at-home tests and making it easier to use Google to find a nearby testing location.

Biden conceded that the efforts have not gone far enough. “Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do,” Biden said as he joined a call with the administration’s COVID-19 response team and a group of State Governors.

“It’s clearly not enough. If we’d known, we would’ve gone harder and quicker if we could have.”

In the virtual meeting hosted by the White House, the President stressed that the rapid spread of the Omicron variant would not have the same impact as the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 or the Delta surge this year.

“Omicron is a source of concern, but it should not be a source of panic,” Biden said. – GULF NEWS