Psaki Previews Biden Speech Amid Omicron Variant Spreading: Not ‘About Locking the Country Down’

Ahead of a speech President Joe Biden will give on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that it won’t be about shutting down the United States amid the rise in coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant.

In the speech, Biden will “talk about what to expect as we head into the winter months and detail additional steps we will be taking. The president has been clear that while vaccinated individuals get Covid – he will restate tomorrow, I should state, that while vaccinated individuals get Covid, due to the highly transmissible nature of Omicron, the cases will likely be mild or asymptomatic.”

Psaki went on to say that “you’re 14 times more likely to die of Covid if you have not been vaccinated versus vaccinated. Importantly, he’ll restate we’re prepared and that fully vaccinated individuals have the tools to protect themselves with a booster shot and masking where CDC recommends.”

“For those who choose to remain unvaccinated, he’ll issue a stark warning and make clear unvaccinated individuals will continue to drive hospitalizations and deaths,” she continued. “That is not trying to scare people or maybe it is trying to make clear to people in the country what the risks are here of not being vaccinated. What is clear is that we’re not in the same place that we were in, and something that he will reiterate tomorrow as well, the beginning of the pandemic.”

Moments later, Psaki said, “This is not a speech about locking the country down. This is a speech outlining and being direct, clear with the American people about the benefits of being vaccinated, the steps we’re going to take to increase access and to increase testing and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals.”

Watch above, via Fox News.