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President Biden today announced his  for responding to COVID-19 surges and the new omicron variant this winter. Among other actions, the strategy includes:

• deploying Department of Defense and National Disaster Medical System teams to states to support clinical staffing at strained hospitals, and strike teams to help states administer monoclonal antibody treatments; 
• providing $20 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to bring additional Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to areas with rising COVID-19 cases; 
• making free at-home tests for COVID-19 available through private health plans, federal health centers and rural health clinics; 
• securing additional antiviral pills for use once authorized; 
• launching a federal advertising campaign and family vaccination clinics to encourage all eligible adults to get boosters and children to get vaccinated; 
• working with authorized vaccine makers to develop contingency plans for other vaccines or boosters for the omicron variant if needed; and accelerating the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries. 

In other news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday released  to help laboratories and clinicians detect the omicron variant and prevent it from spreading.