The White House insisted it is making plans for a less-disruptive phase of the national virus response
President Joe Biden exits after speaking in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 3, 2022.WASHINGTON — Facing growing pressure to ease up on pandemic restrictions, the White House insisted Wednesday it is making plans for a less-disruptive phase of the. But impatient states, including Democratic New York, made clear they aren’t waiting for Washington as public frustration grows.
Federal COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said officials are consulting with state and local leaders and public health officials on potential next steps. But as governors and local officials press for clearer federal guidelines for easing or ending restrictions, states, cities and school boards are adopting an awkward patchwork of policies that differ widely from one place to the next.
Asked whether Biden appears to be out of touch with the country, Psaki defended his caution. “As a federal government we have the responsibility to rely on data on science, on the medical experts,” she said. He has been hesitant, aides say, in part because of the sting of his fleeting “declaration of independence” from the virus last summer, which proved premature in the face of the delta and then omicron strains. Now, though, cases and hospitalizations from COVID-19 have dropped markedly since they peaked earlier this year amid the spread of the, and the vast majority of Americans are protected against the virus by effective vaccines and boosters.
The CDC continues to recommend indoor mask wearing in places of “substantial or high transmission” of the virus, which as of Wednesday was all of the U.S. but 14 rural counties.
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