Winter Of 'Severe Illness And Death' For The Unvaccinated Warns Biden

Omicron is predicted to become the dominant Covid-19 variant in the United States this winter. There has already been an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections. The President of the United States (POTUS) Joe Biden has issued a warning to unvaccinated citizens. He has urged everyone to get their vaccines and boosters to prevent the medical care system from getting overwhelmed in the coming months.

On Thursday, Dec. 16 following his Covid-19 briefing at the White House, Biden made the bleak statements. He said that

the steps taken by the authorities had slowed down the Covid-19 Omicron variant from reaching the US. Now that the variant has started to spread in the US, the coming months promise to be filled with a surge in infections. On average 120k infections are being recorded daily in the US.

Biden further stated that to avoid the “winter of severe illness and death” the primary path would be getting vaccinated. He pointed out that those who are vaccinated should get their boosters if eligible for them.

Getting fully vaccinated and getting the booster would not only keep citizens safe, but it would also help the economy, Biden added. He said that with most of the population vaccinated schools and businesses could remain open. Businesses remaining open over the holiday season could help recover the economy, the POTUS shared.

CNN reported that as of Wednesday, Dec. 15 only 1 in 6 Americans had their vaccine and booster shot. Millions of Americans continue to be at risk of contracting and transmitting the latest variant of concern.

The statements by the president echo that of public health officials. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) forecasts that the infection and death toll of winter this year could rival that of last year. They predict that the total death toll could increase to somewhere between 837k to 854k by Jan. 8, 2022.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, claims that Omicron will soon overtake Delta to become the dominant variant in the US. In South Africa and the United Kingdom, Omicron already has led to infection surges. He added that there was no need for any variant-specific boosters at the moment.