Biden Covid Speech: We are prepared for what’s coming

US President Joe Biden has said those not fully vaccinated have good reason to be concerned about omicron. All Americans have patriotic duty to get vaccinated, Biden added.

Biden also noted “We are not going back to March 2020, we can keep our K-12 schools open”. US markets are brushing the risk-off on Tuesday. Stocks have rallied in midday trading and was rebounding from a slump in the previous session as risk appetite improved.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.5% to 35,505, the S&P 500 increased01.67% to 4,645, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.22% to 15,975.

Biden delivered a progress report Tuesday on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as the new and highly contagious omicron variant spreads around the country.

Anticipating a surge in cases this winter, the administration is expected to focus on increasing support for hospitals, expanding access to free Covid tests and increasing the capacity to deliver vaccines.

Biden’s speech comes a day after the White House revealed that the president was in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. Biden tested negative on Monday, three days after spending about 30 minutes near the staffer during a flight on Air Force One, the White House said.

The unnamed person, described as a “mid-level staff member,” tested negative before the flight but a subsequent test on Monday morning came back positive, press secretary Jen Psaki said. Biden also received a negative antigen test Sunday. He will be tested again Wednesday, she said.

The White House is bracing for more staff members to test positive in the coming days as the omicron variant sweeps the nation. The strain, which was discovered just weeks earlier, now accounts for nearly three-fourths of all new infections in the U.S.