Montpelier — Governor Phil Scott today issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s COVID-19 Winter Action Plan:

“President Biden today outlined a strong plan to confront COVID-19 that will help the country keep moving forward. Like Vermont’s current policies, it strongly prioritizes vaccines, boosters and testing. I share the President’s commitment to progress by prioritizing what we know will work best, which are not the broad restrictions of 2020, because we need to be able to bring Americans and Vermonters along with us 20+ months into the pandemic.

 “We are in a much different place today than we were a year ago with incredibly safe and effective vaccines for those five and older, boosters available to maximize protection, advanced therapeutics and more. This pandemic is still being driven by the unvaccinated, and it’s more important than ever, as we head into the winter, to prioritize these proven strategies that work best, as we have in Vermont.

 “Vaccination efforts, significantly expanding access to at-home testing, exporting Vermont’s ‘Test to Stay’ program across the country to keep kids in school, and other initiatives outlined today are how we’ll continue moving from pandemic to endemic management of this virus.

 “The President’s focus and commitment is appreciated. My team and I look forward to our continued work with him and his Administration to make progress, keep Americans safe, the economy open and our country moving forward.”