First cases of Omicron crop up in US

Within the past two days, health officials have identified multiple confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the United States, including a vaccinated person in California who had traveled to South Africa and a vaccinated (and boosted) Minnesota man who had recently traveled to New York City for an anime convention. 

Unveiling a new plan for controlling the spread of COVID-19, President Biden said today that "we need to be ready" for cases to continue to rise this winter, urging people to continue getting vaccinated and booster doses. He said he wants private insurers to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests and he plans to tighten testing requirements for people entering the United States, but he doesn't expect any shutdowns or lockdowns.

At least 23 other countries are now reporting Omicron cases, too, and Biden is facing increased pressure to get American-made vaccines distributed to other countries before the next variant forms.