
Biden administration signals pandemic strategy shift in the face of Omicron
CNN
The Biden administration is revealing the most tangible signs of a shifting pandemic strategy several weeks in the making. It is preparing a nation exhausted by two years battling the invisible enemy to live more feasibly alongside it.
The new strain of a virus that had already killed more than 800,000 Americans is forcing quick government course alterations.
President Joe Biden's White House faces a dilemma rooted in increasing evidence that Omicron causes more mild disease than previous variants yet is so contagious that it has the power to cause massive shutdowns in the fundamental mechanics of daily life -- by swamping hospitals and closing down shops, schools and transportation. Omicron, it appears, is so virulent that there is simply no way the protocols brought in to fight previous variants can remain in place and allow the country to function in any meaningful way.