Biden: 'Schools should remain open' despite Omicron surge
President Biden delivered remarks Tuesday on the Omicron-led COVID-19 surge tearing its way through the country, and appeared to draw a line in the sand regarding the issue likely on most parents' minds.
"We have no reason to think at this point that Omicron is worse for children than previous variants," Biden said. "We know that our kids can be safe when in school ... that's why I believe schools should remain open."
At the same time, Biden urged parents to vaccinate their kids where eligible, and to vaccinate themselves if they hadn't already, saying, "This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated, so we've got to make more progress."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president also on Tuesday announced the federal government is doubling its order of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pill "from 10 million to 20 million treatment courses to be delivered in the months ahead." While "this is the estimate we need right now," Biden added, he cautioned that "we may need even more."
As for the "frustrating" nationwide COVID testing shortage, Biden assured Americans that he too is angered, "but we're making improvements."
"With more capacity for in-person tests," the president noted, "we should see waiting lines shorten and more appointments freed up."
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?Talking Point Rambling speeches, wind turbine obsession, and an ‘unhinged’ letter to Norway’s prime minister have caused concern whether the rest of his term is ‘sustainable’
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
