President Biden warned Thursday that the unvaccinated may face a winter of “severe illness and death”.
During a meeting with his coronavirus response team, Biden said unvaccinated Americans “will soon overwhelm” hospitals.
“It’s here now and it’s spreading and it’s going to increase,” he said of the Omicron variant, which has been detected in over 30 states. “For unvaccinated we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death if you’re unvaccinated for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they will soon overwhelm”.
Biden urged Americans to get the booster shot, saying “Go get boosted if you’d had your first two shots. If you haven’t, go get your first shot. It’s time, it’s time — it’s past time”.
Biden also pushed vaccine so schools and businesses can stay open. “And we’re going to protect our economic recovery if we do this. We’re going to keep schools and businesses open if we do this. And I want to see everyone around enjoy that. I want to see them enjoy the fact that they’re able to be in school and businesses are open and the holidays are coming, ” he said.
The president has previously blamed the prolonged disruptions, saying it’s a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, despite the number of breakthrough cases in vaccinated people.
Around 3% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are from the Omicron variant, with New York and New Jersey having the most cases.
