White House gets set for cautious pivot

The White House is preparing to pivot on the pandemic — but with a different approach than the July 4 celebration last summer that some have subsequently criticized as premature.

At the Independence Day event, President Biden declared near “independence” from COVID-19.

What followed were the delta and omicron variants, which caused spikes in cases and hospitalizations, contributing to the COVID-19 fatigue that has been a factor in declining approval numbers for President Biden.

The omicron variant is showing signs of fading: Coronavirus cases are on the decline across the country. The White House is signaling that the new phase is about being able to live with the virus.

But there is caution in Democratic circles after the bad turns from last summer and fall.

What’s next: Biden administration officials haven’t said much publicly about their plans and have made clear they’re still focused on ushering the country through the current surge of the pandemic.

It’s also unclear whether or when Biden himself plans to outline the way forward in the pandemic. White House officials and health experts say the country still has some time before reaching some kind of “new normal.”