LIVE 2:00 PM ET ~ White House Press Briefing by Excellent White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at The White House on Tuesday, December 21, 2021
The Washinton Waterfront
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
THE WHITE HOUSE
Distinguished White House Press of the United States of America at The White House James Brady Press Room in Washington, DC, USA on December 2021.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki of the United States of America
Reported by Karen Ann Carr
At 2:00 PM ET, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki of the United States of America convenes the White House Press Briefing at The White House James Brady Press Room in Washington, DC, USA on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
Today, President Biden "will tell the American people that if they are vaccinated and follow the process that we all know well, especially masking while traveling, they should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as they planned.
If you are unvaccinated, the White House reportes, you are at high risk of getting sick. This variant is highly transmissible, and the unvaccinated are 8 times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from COVID.
The WHite House stated yesterday, 40 million eligible adults are unvaccinated, and health officials know Omicron is more transmissible. Therefore, the White House is prepared for cases to rise.
Today, President Biden will announce steps which are designed to build on the Winter Plan he laid out a few weeks ago. These steps fall into three main categories: First, increasing support for hospitals. Second, increasing access to free testing. And third, expanding capacity to get shots in arms.
President Biden has directed Secretary Austin to mobilize 1,000 members of our military -- these are doctors, nurses, medics, and other military medical personnel -- to deploy overburdened hospitals in January and February.
These doctors and nurses and others will be ready to deploy to neighboring hospitals that need them. However, God is willing, that we will not need all of these servicemen and women, but if we do, they are ready and they are mobilized.
Second, President Biden, we're also expanding hospital capacity. We have already built out two new medical surge facilities in Louisiana, added about 30 beds for COVID patients in Baltimore, and expanded ICUs and emergency departments in California.
The President has asked the FEMA Administrator to activate the National Response Coordination Center and to deploy FEMA planners to assess hospital needs and start to expand that capacity now. Additionally, we will pre-position critical supplies and materials needed to shorten timelines to get more hospital beds online and keep staff safe. We have hundreds of millions of high-quality masks, billions of gloves, thousands of ventilators. We've prepositioned these supplies in strategic locations across the U.S. so that if a hospital runs out, we can get those supplies to states that need them immediately.
Next, we're expanding access to testing.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Staff Member Close Contact to
President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BRIEFS THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS AT THE WHITE HOUSE JAMES BRADY PRESS ROOM, DECEMBER 20, 2021. | SNAPSHOT PHOTO BY KAREN ANN CARR / TheWhiteHouseSpin.Com SPIN PUBLISHING |
"As we stated last summer, we believe it is in the public’s interest to know if any of the four principals (President, Vice President, First Lady, and Second Gentleman) are considered to have been in close contact with a White House official who subsequently tests positive for COVID-19 shortly after that contact. The criteria for what is considered a “close contact” with the principals is determined by the White House Medical Unit, in line with CDC guidance.
On Monday morning, a mid-level staff member, who does not regularly have contact with the President, received a positive result for a COVID-19 test. Three days earlier, on Friday, that staff member had spent approximately 30 minutes in proximity to the President on Air Force One, on the way from Orange, South Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This staff member is fully vaccinated and boosted, and tested negative prior to boarding Air Force One, as is required for everyone traveling with the President. This staff member did not begin to experience symptoms until Sunday, and was tested on Monday.
Others on Air Force One who were in close contact with this staff member are being contacted and will be advised to get tested per CDC guidance.
The President is tested on a regular basis. As part of that regular testing, the President received an antigen test Sunday, and tested negative.
This morning, after being notified of the staffer’s positive test, the President received a PCR test and tested negative. He will be tested again on Wednesday.
As CDC guidance does not require fully vaccinated people to quarantine after an exposure, the President will continue with his daily schedule."
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BRIEFS THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS AT THE WHITE HOUSE JAMES BRADY PRESS ROOM, DECEMBER 20, 2021. | SNAPSHOT PHOTO BY KAREN ANN CARR / TheWhiteHouseSpin.Com SPIN PUBLISHING |
PRESIDENT JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN, JR. OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE WHITE HOUSE SPEAKS ON COVID-19 ATTACK, DECEMBER 2021. | SNAPSHOT PHOTO BY KAREN ANN CARR / TheWhiteHouseSpin.Com SPIN PUBLISHING |
PRESIDENT JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN, JR. ~ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
In the morning at 10:00 AM, President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. of the United States of America will receive the President’s Daily Brief in Washington DC, U.S.A..
In the afternoon, at 2:30 PM EST President Biden will present remarks about the status of the country’s fight against COVID-19 at The White House State Dining Room in Washington, DC.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA DEVI HARRIS, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SPEAK ON BANKING AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT WITH TREASURY SECRETARY YELLEN, DECEMBER 2021. | SNAPSHOT PHOTO BY KAREN ANN CARR / TheWhiteHouseSpin.Com SPIN PUBLISHING |
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA DEVI HARRIS ~ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
In the morning at 10:00 AM, President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala Devi Harris of the United States of America will receive the President’s Daily Brief on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 in Washington DC, U.S.A..
THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE WHITE HOUSE JAMES BRADY PRESS ROOM, DECEMBER 20, 2021. | SNAPSHOT PHOTO BY KAREN ANN CARR / TheWhiteHouseSpin.Com SPIN PUBLISHING |
BRIEFING SCHEDULE ~ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2021
At 1:00 PM ET, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki of the United States of America convenes the White House Press Briefing at The White House James Brady Press Room in Washington, DC, USA on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
