White House will roll out next phase of Covid-19 response Wednesday

By Jeremy Diamond, CNN

The White House will roll out a new strategy laying out the next phase of its response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, two administration officials told CNN, outlining a vision that involves fewer disruptions to daily life while preparing for the unpredictable potential of another game-changing variant.

The White House’s coronavirus response team and the administration’s leading health officials will announce the “National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan” during an event on Wednesday, the officials said. The event will come on the heels of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, in which the President will declare that the country can “move forward safely” into a less disruptive phase of the pandemic, one of the officials said.

The new strategy, outlined in a roughly 100-page plan, is the product of nearly two months of work by the White House’s coronavirus response teamand consultations with dozens of external experts, public health officials and governors.

Politico first reported on the expected announcement.

The plan will acknowledge an understanding that “Covid is unpredictable, but clear that we don’t have to let Covid dominate our lives like it once did,” a senior administration official said.

The new strategy document also reflects an internal government playbook that White House officials have crafted outlining how the government can most effectively respond to the emergence of new variants.

Officials from across the government last month put that playbook to the test, holding a tabletop exercise over video conference involving a fictional variant that led to a spike in cases and increased strain on the nation’s hospitals, another senior administration official said.

This story has been updated with additional details Tuesday.

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