US President Joe Biden has denied his administration bungled its response to the emergence of the Omicron variant. He told a TV network that “nobody” could have predicted it. His top adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said experts did foresee variants. It comes a day after the White House unveiled plans to order 500 million at-home coronavirus tests amid a shortage. There are long waits for in-person tests as Christmas looms. One year ago Mr. Biden lambasted a shortfall in Covid-19 testing under the Trump administration as ‘a travesty’.
On Wednesday, New York City recorded nearly 29,000 new cases a new single-day record during the pandemic and a 30% jump from the record set earlier this week.
