Biden Deploys US Military Medical Teams to Six States With Overwhelmed Hospitals

Within the past week, the US has experienced a single-day record of 1.5 million COVID-19 cases and logged a record number of 145,982 related hospitalizations. Despite vaccinations preventing a vast number of hospital trips, medical facilities are being overwhelmed by a spike in COVID-19 cases triggered by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that his administration will deploy more than a hundred medical professionals affiliated with the US military.

"Today, I’m announcing our next deployment of six additional federal medical teams, a total of more than 120 military medical personnel, to six hard-hit states: Michigan, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island," the US president said during a morning address from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Biden's remarks confirmed a previous USA Today report regarding the move.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he will deploy more military health workers to six U.S. states beginning next week, and give Americans free masks and more free tests to tackle the fast-spreading Omicron variant https://t.co/BfyxwP7DPO pic.twitter.com/MVzXYRpeCK

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 13, 2022

New York, once the US epicenter of the disease, is continuing to see surges in cases of the contagious disease. On Tuesday, some 58,770 individuals in New York tested positive for COVID-19 and, as of this article's publication, there are some 12,671 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state.

Deployments were paid for via the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed last year.

"I’ve directed FEMA to work with every state, territory, and the District of Columbia to make sure they have enough hospital bed capacity," Biden added.

The US president also announced that the government has ramped up shipments of COVID-19 treatments, including antiviral pills.

Since November 25 (Thanksgiving in the US), over 800 US emergency personnel have been deployed to 24 states, Tribes, and territories. More than 350 US military doctors make up the emergency personnel.

More than 14,000 members of the National Guard are also active in 49 states.

The US president concluded his address by urging Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and telling members of the press to "deal with the misinformation and disinformation that’s on your shows."