Reuters
President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would send more military health workers to hospitals in six U.S. states and provide free masks and more free tests to help Americans tackle the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
He announced the phased dispatch of 1,000 military health personnel beginning next week as U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a record high and health facilities faced a staffing crunch.
"I know we're all frustrated as we enter this new year," Biden said, reiterating his message that COVID-19 remains a "pandemic of the unvaccinated." He said the military deployment would help hard-pressed hospitals nationwide.
In the first wave of the deployment, teams of military doctors, nurses and other personnel will head to Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island to support at-capacity emergency rooms and free up overwhelmed hospital staff for non-COVID cases, the White House said.
