President BidenVerified account

As we mark the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act, I call upon all Americans to reaffirm our commitment to accelerate cancer research and deliver hope to more families facing a cancer diagnosis. Working together, we can and will end cancer as we know it.

Today, my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022 — as we manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen our economic recovery.

Americans who haven’t yet renewed their coverage or shopped for a plan can still visit http://HealthCare.gov  through January 15th to sign up.

As 2021 draws to a close, I am proud to say that more than 4.6 million Americans have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act since I took office. From November 1st to December 15th alone, more than 13.6 million Americans signed up — an all-time high.

While we know staffing is the biggest need of our hospitals, some may need more beds as well. We’re prepared. I directed FEMA to activate the National Response Center and to begin deploying teams now to build more hospital beds.

My Administration has stockpiled millions of gowns, gloves, masks, and ventilators. We are ready to send them immediately to any state that needs more. I have also directed the Pentagon to mobilize an additional 1,000 troops to help staff local hospitals and expand capacity.

To those people who have not been vaccinated: you have an obligation to yourself, your family, and your country. Get vaccinated now. It’s free. It’s convenient. It saves lives. And it’s your patriotic duty.

Starting this week, the federal government will set up emergency testing sites in areas that need additional testing capacity. Before Christmas, the first several of these federal testing sites will be up and running in New York City — with many more to come.

This is not March 2020. 200 million people are fully vaccinated. We’re prepared. We know more. We just have to stay focused.

Today, I am ordering the federal government to purchase half a billion additional at-home rapid tests with delivery starting in January. We will be getting these tests to Americans for free — and we will have a website where you can get them delivered to your home.

Starting this week, I will be deploying hundreds more vaccinators and more sites to help get more booster shots in arms. I’ve ordered FEMA to stand up new pop-up vaccination clinics across the country where you can get a booster shot.

My Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America. We’re going to finally build the economy from the bottom up and middle out — not the top down.

We are working around the clock to increase testing capacity, vaccine availability, and support for our hospitals. I'll have more to say on this tomorrow. In the meantime: Get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask. And keep the faith. We’ll get through this together.