President Joe Biden said Tuesday the federal government is prepared to address the growing COVID-19 health crisis, adding at this point there are "no excuses" for being unvaccinated.
While addressing the nation on the current surge in new COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, President Biden said there are enough doses of vaccines to protect every American.
"We have in hand all the vaccines we need to get every American fully vaccinated, including the booster shot," Biden said. "There is no excuse."
He went on to echo the thoughts of many experts who believe we're in the midst of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Numbers show most who are experiencing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death are those without the shot.
Biden urged Americans to get the vaccine if they haven't already to protect themselves from becoming seriously ill.
"You can still get COVID, but it's highly unlikely that you'll become seriously ill," Biden said. "If you're vaccinated and boosted, you are highly protected. Be concerned about omicron, but don't be alarmed. And if you're unvaccinated, you have some reasons to be alarmed. You'll experience severe illness in many cases."
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The president went on to say that some who get sick from the omicron variant without being vaccinated will "die needlessly." He also pointed out the risk of filling hospitals that are already understaffed.
"The unvaccinated are taking up hospital beds, crowding emergency rooms and intensive care units," Biden said. "That's displaced other people who need access to those hospitals. So please, please, get vaccinated now."
Biden's comments came before a meeting with the White House COVID-19 response team.
The U.S. hit the 1 million mark in new coronavirus cases for the first time on Monday with a total of 1.08 million. Some say the holiday weekend backlogs likely enhanced this.
The U.S. is currently averaging 550,000 newly reported infections per day over the last week, and John Hopkins University's data is showing high test positivity across the country.
