US Shifts COVID-19 Response Focus from 'Confirmed Cases' to 'Severe Patients'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As the Omicron variant is expected to spread across the United States, the Biden administration is discussing shifting the focus of its COVID-19 response from the number of confirmed cases to the number of severe cases.

According to a CNN report on the 18th (local time), with the emergence of the Omicron variant expected to cause a surge in COVID-19 cases this winter, the administration aims to shift the public messaging focus from infection counts to the severity of cases.

CNN pointed out that this represents a clear shift in messaging tone for the White House, which once promoted a "COVID-19 liberation."

The Biden administration acknowledges the high likelihood of the Omicron variant spreading nationwide and is discussing ways to respond to severe cases that overload the healthcare system and disrupt daily life.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra recently stated in a press briefing, "We have now reached a stage where severity is the issue," adding, "The problem is not the number of confirmed cases but the severity."

However, Secretary Becerra explained, "There is considerable difficulty in defining what severity means and determining what people need to do to avoid falling into the severe category."

He also mentioned that due to the impact of Omicron, the federal government's COVID-19 response budget may require more than $10 billion (approximately 11.9 trillion KRW).

CNN assessed that shifting public attention from the number of confirmed cases?which has been the key metric for gauging the pandemic’s spread and mitigation over the past two years?to the number of severe cases could prove to be a challenging task.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, this issue has emerged as a difficult challenge facing President Biden.

The Biden administration is reviewing all options ahead of the anticipated resurgence caused by Omicron. The top priority is ensuring sufficient resources?including personnel, supplies, and equipment?are available to hospitals overwhelmed in areas with low vaccination rates.

The administration has already deployed federal public health response teams to regions experiencing sharp increases in confirmed and hospitalized cases.

The Biden administration plans to reinstate mask mandates in public spaces and emphasize the need to prepare for any scenario, even if Omicron proves to be a mild virus.

A senior administration official stated, "Even without the emergence of Omicron, infections from the Delta variant, which poses a threat to the unvaccinated, are surging."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.