Reports: Biden White House Preparing for Coronavirus Tidal Wave in January

The White House is preparing for a flood of coronavirus cases to hit the United States in January after federal health officials briefed them with prediction models, according to reports.

“Everything points to a large wave. A large wave is coming,” a senior Biden administration official told Axios on Tuesday, predicting “plenty of hospitalizations” in the months ahead.

The Washington Post reported that top federal health officials from the Centers for Disease Control outlined their latest prediction models showing a large increase in cases and shared them with senior administration officials.

One health official familiar with the briefing described the latest scenario as “daunting.”

“The implications of a big wave in January that could swamp hospitals … we need to take that potential seriously,” the official told the Post.

“They’re considering the information at the highest levels right now, and thinking through how to get the public to understand what the scenarios mean,” the official continued. “It looks daunting.”

Studies show the existing coronavirus vaccines are not as effective against the coronavirus variants but provide some level of protection.

A White House official stressed that altering the coronavirus vaccines to be more effective against the Omicron variant was not being considered.

“We have to be careful not to repeat mistakes of the past,” the official told the Post. “If there is a change needed, we want to make it, but we don’t want to end up making a change if we don’t really need it. It costs time, money, and effort.”

Biden spent most of the day on Tuesday out of public view and no meetings were on his schedule.

The White House released a statement from the president on Tuesday afternoon hailing the positive news on a coronavirus treatment pill developed by Pfizer.

“I am encouraged by the promising data released by Pfizer today, showing that its antiviral pill is effective at reducing the risk of severe illness in people infected with COVID-19,” Biden said, announcing the federal government had ordered enough pills to treat ten million Americans.

The president and his staff plan to attend a holiday party in Washington, DC on Tuesday night for Democrats and officials from the Democratic National Committee.