President Biden will announce measures to try to control the spread of the omicron variant in the North American country, where it is the most contagious.
Amid growing global concern over new waves of coronavirus, the US announced Tuesday that it will donate $ 580 million to international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Organization to Food and Agriculture (FAO), to combat COVID-19. In addition, the country is preparing to use the medical personnel of the armed forces to support the new wave of infections.
“The rapid spread of the omicron variant shows that we need to continue to accelerate our efforts to end this pandemic and that none of us will be safe until we all are. This is a global pandemic that requires global solutions,” he said in a statement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The additional funds announced Tuesday by Blinken bring the total amount of US foreign aid against COVID-19 to $ 19.6 billion.
Specifically, the US State Department announced on Tuesday a package of 280 million dollars for the WHO, including 50 million for an emergency fund to increase access to diagnostic tests and help the health systems of different countries.
In addition, Washington will grant 75 million to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), affiliated to WHO, to provide technical cooperation in the administration of vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Another $ 170 million will go to UNICEF to help distribute vaccines around the world, while $ 20 million will go to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with the goal of addressing the economic and social impact of the pandemic, including programs to help you find employment.
It will also donate another 20 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support its policies around women’s reproductive health and mitigate maternal and neonatal mortality rates, as well as other complications related to COVID-19. .
Finally, 10 million dollars will be allocated to FAO and 5 million to the UN entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women with the aim of helping women and girls during the pandemic with specialized programs to respond to gender violence.
This financial aid is in addition to the 330 doses of vaccines that the United States has sent to more than 110 countries alone or in collaboration with Covax, the mechanism promoted by WHO to guarantee global and equitable access to anti-covid drugs.
This announcement comes just hours before US President Joe Biden delivers a long-awaited speech on the pandemic in which he could announce new measures, given the increase in cases and hospitalizations due to the rapid expansion of omicron and the rebound of delta .
Military support to health centers
Among what Biden would announce is the mobilization of military and federal medical personnel to support hospitals and the purchase of 500 million coronavirus tests, to face the advance of the omicron variant in the country.
A source from the Biden Administration, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in a virtual conference with journalists, outlined the additional steps to be taken by the president, who released a “detailed strategy” a few weeks ago to combat the pandemic in this winter.
To have more professionals in the hospitals, the spokesman explained, Biden has instructed the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, to prepare about 1,000 service members, including military doctors, nurses and paramedics, who will be deployed, if necessary. , during the months of January and February.
Federal medical personnel will also be immediately available to support the states. Initially, six emergency response teams made up of more than 100 clinical and paramedical professionals will travel to the states of Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Hampshire and Vermont.
In addition, the ruler will order that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designate personnel for a national response coordination center and that teams of experts from that entity evaluate the hospital needs of the states and territories.
The actions include guaranteeing the supply of thousands of masks and more than 100,000 ventilators.
Similarly, Biden will announce measures to increase access to free trials, which includes, among others, the installation of new spaces led by the federal government. The first of these structures will be installed this week in New York.
Another decision that will strengthen the diagnostic capacity will be the purchase by the Biden Government of some 500 million rapid tests to be performed at home.
The tests will begin to be distributed in January. To do this, a website will be set up where citizens can request that the exams be delivered to their homes.
On the other hand, the steps to expand vaccination capacity will be announced, including the installation of new spaces, including mobiles, throughout the country, and the dispatch of federal personnel specialized in the application of vaccines to 12 states, tribes and territories.
According to data published this Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), omicron is already the most contagious variant of the coronavirus in the United States, where between December 12 and 18 it was 73 , 2% of the new cases. (I)
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