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One of Joe Biden’s greatest political vulnerabilities going into next year is a mutating virus.
Voters do not seem to be rewarding President Biden for his big-dollar legislative accomplishments. He’s getting declining marks in polls for his handling of the pandemic, despite having signed into law trillions of dollars in pandemic funding and ensuring there are enough vaccines to protect those willing to get them. His approval rating has dropped to the low 40s.
Americans are frustrated with the status quo and want the pandemic to end and the economy to stabilize after months of anxiety about supply chain shortages and rising prices. They’re counting on Biden to get the virus under control and bring things back to normal, as he has promised to do. But a new COVID-19 variant threatens to drag the ordeal out longer, at a time when a quarter of eligible Americans still haven’t gotten their first vaccine shot.
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That’s why as reports emerged in recent days about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Biden’s White House took swift action. After being briefed on the new variant on Friday, Biden issued a travel ban on flights from eight countries in southern Africa. Scientists launched weeks of tests to see how effective existing vaccines are against Omicron, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded its recommendation that everyone over 18 to get a booster shot. In a further sign of urgency, Biden’s staff scheduled a televised address for the President to deliver on Monday to encourage more people to get vaccinated and reassure Americans his Administration was working to slow the spread of the variant and deploy additional government resources to respond.
As Biden stood in front of a mantle adorned with Christmas garland in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Monday, his message seemed intended to raise awareness without spreading alarm. The new…
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Source : time
