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 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
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Biden's plan to fight Omicron |
Biden said he would distribute 500 million rapid Covid-19 tests to the public, deploy 1,000 military medical professionals to overwhelmed hospitals and set up new federal testing sites. He also urged Americans to take heart. |
"This is not March of 2020," Biden said. "Two hundred million people are vaccinated. We're prepared; we know more." |
Biden tested negative after having close contact with a White House official who later tested positive. |
And while 500 million tests is a big number, it won't be nearly enough in a country of more than 330 million people. To state the obvious: That won't even be enough for two tests per person, and each is only diagnostically useful for a single day. |
It was also not immediately clear where the tests would come from, how they would be shipped or whether there would be limits on the number an individual could order. |
"There's not enough," Biden said, speaking of the nation's testing efforts. "We have to do more. We have to do better. And we will." |
The White House response in 2021 has drawn criticism from public health experts, who say the president has focused too heavily on vaccination as his central strategy. |
Experts also said that his plan will not stop the Omicron variant. Many pointed out that the strategy does not call for new measures that would immediately curb the spread, focusing instead on propping up hospitals to treat a large wave of incoming patients that is seen as almost inevitable. |
Many experts have called on Biden to be more aggressive about testing. Some European countries have robust, subsidized at-home testing programs. Throughout the pandemic, some of my friends in London have made a free nose swab part of their morning routine before commuting to work. |
And while European countries are strongly considering harsher restrictions, the White House is trying to avoid speculation about the return of lockdowns. To the consternation of some, Biden has also stopped short of urging people to cancel travel plans, avoid public transportation or deploy other mitigation tactics during yet another Covid Christmas. |
"I know you're tired, really, and I know you're frustrated," Biden said, adding, "We all want this to be over, but we're still in it." |
Can schools handle Omicron? |
School districts — and many parents — say they don't want classrooms to close again. But the looming Omicron wave could challenge the rickety infrastructure that has kept schools running this year. |
Some classrooms are closing anyway, albeit temporarily, as more people test positive or go into quarantine. |
"I was not even slightly surprised; I fully expected it," said Olivia Strong, a parent in Manhattan. Her son's cohort of eighth graders is shifting to remote learning because of multiple positive virus cases. |
Things have gone relatively smoothly for schools this year, despite targeted classroom closures to contain the virus. School outbreaks have been limited throughout the pandemic, and children are getting vaccinated. (Crucially, as my colleague David Leonhardt has repeatedly noted in The Morning newsletter, childhood Covid is almost always mild.) |
Across the nation's 13,000 districts and 98,000 public schools this week, there are about 600 shuttered schools or districts, according to data from Burbio, a company that has tracked how schools have operated through the pandemic. There are fewer closures now than in November. |
But the Omicron variant appears contagious enough to upend the shaky equilibrium that has allowed schools to stay open. Many are in dire need of substitute teachers and bus drivers, and can ill afford an outbreak that would send many staff members home. |
The C.D.C. has encouraged schools to use a "test-to-stay" protocol, in which people who test negative after exposure can stay in classrooms, reducing quarantines and closures. |
But there still are not enough rapid tests to quickly screen whole classrooms or schools. And many parents have not given consent for their children to be tested for the virus at school. |
"If there is a positive case in a class, everyone should just get tested," Erik Berg, vice president of the Boston Teachers Union, said. "If our universities and colleges can test everyone on campus twice per week, it says a lot about the commitment to K-12 education that we can't even test people we know were in the same room with a positive case for six or seven hours." |
What else we're following |
- The U.S. population grew by just one-tenth of 1 percent from July 2020 to July 2021, the lowest rate since the nation's founding, as the pandemic increased the number of deaths, slowed immigration and caused families to delay pregnancies.
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- The N.H.L. paused its season until next week because of the coronavirus, beginning its holiday break early.
- The pandemic exacerbated budget issues and labor disputes in several major orchestras.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci said Fox News should fire its host Jesse Watters for targeting him with violent rhetoric, Politico reports.
- The pandemic and inflation may mean the end of New York City's $1 pizza slices.
- From Opinion: "Even if you're reasonably sure your chest cold, stomach bug or swollen sinuses are not coronavirus-related, I'm going to ask that you step away from the mulled cider until you are healthy," writes the journalist Jenni Avins.
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In a matter of two hours today the world I've been slowly building back up came crashing down. Exercise classes I'd returned to while masked — canceled ("an abundance of safety caution"). Friend I was meeting for outside drinks -— canceled ("feeling flu-y"). New Year's Eve concert at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine — canceled ("moved to livestream"). I feel like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. — Heather Kosmicki, New York City |
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