President Biden is deploying military doctors and health care workers to bolster hospitals amid the spike in omicron variant cases. But in the last few months, thousands of health care workers across the nation have been terminated over refusing to comply with vaccine mandates, leaving health care providers in the lurch with staffing shortages while bracing for more patients.
“We’re mobilizing an additional 1,000 military doctors and nurses and medics to help staff hospitals,” Biden said Monday during the COVID-19 Response Team’s regular call with the National Governors Association.
“FEMA is deploying hundreds of ambulances and EMS crews to transport patients. We’ve already deployed emergency response teams in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Mexico. We’re ready to provide more hospital beds as well.”
In New York state, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency over the omicron variant and called in the National Guard to assist with nursing homes. She added that hospitals in the state at over 90% capacity could be ordered to stop elective procedures to focus on the surge. Biden said testing faculties will also be opened in the state.