Coronavirus: Joe Biden to outline plan to curb Delta variant as cases grow
- Biden administration wants to boost vaccination rates, stop Delta spread
- US has recorded more than 40 million cases since start of pandemic
The United States, which leads the world in Covid-19 cases and deaths, is struggling to stem a wave of infections driven by the variant even as officials try to persuade Americans who have resisted vaccination to get the shots. Rising caseloads have raised concerns as children head back to school, while also rattling investors and upending company return-to-office plans.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters travelling with Biden aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that he will lay out the strategy “working across the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control”.
Asked about possible new mandates, Psaki said the White House would offer more details later about the plan and acknowledged that the federal government cannot broadly mandate that Americans get vaccinated.
“We need to continue to take more steps to make sure school districts are prepared and make sure communities across the country are prepared,” Psaki added.
A White House official familiar with the plan said it would touch on mandates, testing, and schools. “There is a path out,” the official said, noting a sense of hopelessness by some in the country about the pandemic.
The official added the private sector could do more on the issue and that Biden would take on vaccine hesitancy as well.
