WASHINGTON – President Biden spent time in the east room on Monday, to talk about his plan to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
“Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege in this country,” said President Biden.
His administration discussed the latest in the nation’s fight against Covid-19, as the Omicron variant is detected in a growing number of states.
Aside from the travel restrictions in effect on Monday, the White House’s plan to combat Covid-19 during the winter includes free at home rapid tests and extending the mask requirement on public transportation through mid-March.
Also in an effort to contain the spread, the White House restricted travel from Southern Africa late last month, where the variant was first identified.
“It would be a recommendation from Dr. Fauci and health and medical experts, that we should pull back those travel restrictions and that’s something that is being discussed on a daily basis,” said Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary.
This comes as New York City is the first in the nation to require all private employers to enforce Covid-19 vaccination mandates for staff.
“A vaccine mandate that reaches everyone universally in the private sector... they believe in vaccination, but they’re not quite sure who they can do it themselves. Well, we’re going to do it,” said Mayor Bill De Blasio, (D) New York.
December 27th is the deadline for the new mandate as the White House continues to push people to get the vaccine. The nation is averaging 2.2 million vaccine doses administered a day.