As Biden prepares to address the country on the new coronaviruses, the White House medical advisor said on Good Morning America that he is not likely to impose new restrictions beyond a recent travel ban.
The Dirksen Senate Office Building is where Dr. Fauci will testify at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing.
The images are from the same company.
When asked if the country should expect more changes during Biden's address on Monday, Fauci replied, "I don't think so at all."
The advisor said the country needs to make sure that they know they have tools against the omicron variant of the virus.
Fauci said on ABC Sunday that it was too early to say if restrictions like lock downs would be necessary in light of omicron, but noted, "You want to be prepared to do anything and everything."
Fauci defended Biden's decision to restrict travel from several countries in southern Africa due to the omicron variant, saying it would not stop the new strain from entering the U.S.
We don't know what's going on with this variant, but I think it's reasonable to assume that when you get vaccinations and boosted, you're going to have some degree of protection.
What to watch for.
Fauci said that more information on the severity of the omicron variant should be known within the next week or so, and that the effectiveness of the vaccines against the new strain is being tested and results are expected in at least two weeks. Fauci said Monday that people should not wait for the updated shots, which would be months away, if the data shows their effectiveness is diminished. Fauci said that he would strongly suggest you get boostered now, noting that we may not need updated vaccines depending on what the data shows.
The omicron variant was first identified in southern Africa last week and has since been reported in countries such as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Italy, Australia and Canada. Fauci said Monday that it's inevitable that the variant will spread widely, though no confirmed cases have yet been identified in the U.S. The World Health Organization has identified omicron as a "variant of concern" and experts are worried about the variant's transmissibility and the possibility that it could be more resistant to vaccines. The WHO and other public health experts say more time is needed to determine more information. The U.K. enacted stricter mask-wearing restrictions on Saturday after two cases of the variant were detected in the country.
Travel restrictions, stocks down, and what to know about Omicron.
The first cases of Omicron variant were found in North America.
Fauci said the US could face a fifth wave of Covid.
Biden limits travel from southern African countries due to fears of a new coronaviruses variant.
Coverage and live updates on the coronaviruses.
