Joe Biden faces his own headache over dealing with Covid-19

The US president is clear about the importance of boosters and vaccines – like the UK government – but the the tone of messaging will be important, writes Chris Stevenson

Joe Biden talking about Covid-19 from the White House (Reuters)

Not unlike Boris Johnson's government – although without the scandal surrounding Christmas parties – Joe Biden's administration is trying to plot a way through a likely winter surge in Covid-19 cases, with the Omicron variant complicating matters.

Both leaders have set out the importance of getting vaccinated – and the need for booster jabs – to try and deal with the impact of new cases. Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Biden said: “For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated – for themselves, their families and the hospitals they'll soon overwhelm ... If you're vaccinated and you have your booster shot, you're protected from severe illness and death.” The message is clear, with Omicron having spread to at least 89 nations according to the World Health Organisation.

While Johnson has faced a rebellion from Tory MPs over some Covid measures, Biden's vaccine mandates have faced multiple legal challenges, with some Republicans in Congress also willing to make a show of opposing such measures even when voting on other legislation. One bright spot just before the weekend was a federal appeals court ruling to reinstate a vaccine-or-testing mandate (set to begin on 4 January) for companies with more than 100 employees. But the fact that business groups swiftly filed an appeal to the Supreme Court shows the political situation over Covid is difficult.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos polling of Biden's personal rating has 48 per cent approving of his work and 46 per cent disapproving, but the average of all polls over the last few weeks still has the president in negative territory. Biden has fared better over Covid, with a CNN/SSRS poll showing 54 per cent of people approve of his handling of the pandemic. But in April that figure stood at 66 per cent – and a big increase in Omicron cases would surely only push that down further.

In the UK, two doses of vaccine are what is required for "fully vaccinated" status when travelling, etc, but the health secretary Sajid Javid has already indicated (without a clear timeframe yet) that once the booster jab rollout has progressed sufficiently, that too will be needed to meet “fully vaccinated” status. The White House is currently trying to grapple with the same question – but Biden officials will be aware that similar changes in the US would mean even more of a legal headache.

Clarity of message is of peak importance and Biden couldn't have been much clearer about the need to get vaccinated – but the White House will know that things will not be that simple as we move towards Christmas and into the new year.