US Mobilizing ‘COVID-19 Surge Response Teams’ Amid Rising Cases Among Unvaccinated, Biden Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US will be mobilizing so-called “COVID-19 Surge Response Teams” to address surges in cases and its new Delta variant in areas of the country with lower vaccination rates, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

“We’re stepping up our preparations to respond to the outbreaks we’re going to see among the unvaccinated. For that, we’re mobilizing what I’m calling ‘COVID-19 Surge Response Teams.’ These teams are made up of experts from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the CDC, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and elsewhere across our government,” Biden said during a briefing at the White House.

The teams will help prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks of the Delta variant among unvaccinated individuals in states with low vaccination rates. They will deploy testing, medicines, and federal personnel to fill gaps in staffing to help investigate outbreaks.

The effort is part of a larger plan announced by the Biden administration which focuses on getting vaccines to primary care doctors and pediatricians, making vaccines accessible to workers on-site, and expanding mobile clinic efforts.