|
 The federal government has tens of millions of tests on hand and
started sending them on Thursday, White House COVID-19 Response
Coordinator Jeffrey Zients told reporters at a briefing, adding the
administration would release more data next week.
The push to get tests in the hands of Americans at no cost, along
with free best-protective masks, comes as the surge in cases driven
by the highly transmissible Omicron variant began to subside in some
states.
The average daily U.S. COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant fell
about 5% in the past week, particularly in areas that saw an early
surge such as New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the head of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. There
were about 744,600 cases per day on average in the past seven days.
"In some parts of the country we are seeing the number of daily
cases caused by the Omicron variant beginning to decline," CDC
Director Rochelle Walensky said at the briefing. "The surge in cases
started at different times in different regions and (we) may
continue to see high case counts in some areas of the country in the
days and weeks ahead."
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 Daily COVID-19 hospitalizations
were down about 1% at 21,000 on average in the
past seven days, she said, with daily deaths at
more than 1,700 per day.
Walensky also said the agency was looking to
shift its language on COVID-19 vaccinations to
encourage Americans to be "up-to-date" by having
a timely booster dose, but did not say whether
it was formally changing its definition of fully
vaccinated.
"Protection against infection and
hospitalization with the Omicron variant is
highest for those who are up to date with their
vaccination, meaning those who are boosted when
they are eligible," she said.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Carl O'Donnell
Editing by Aurora Ellis and Sandra Maler)
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