Biden Admits Fault In Failed COVID-19 Testing Effort: 'It's Not Enough'

President Joe Biden has admitted that he failed to take steps to scale up COVID-19 testing capacity to meet the demand across the United States as the Omicron variant spreads across the nation.

Speaking in a video conference with governors Monday, Biden said his administration has “more work to do” on the country’s COVID-19 testing capacity after patients reported having to wait between five to seven days for results. At-home rapid tests were also flying off store shelves in areas with surging Omicron cases.

"It's not enough. It's clearly not enough. If we'd have known, we'd have gone harder, quicker if we could have," Biden said, adding: “Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do and we’re doing it.”

Biden said he will continue to use the Defense Production Act to produce more COVID-19 testing kits. He also announced plans to have private insurance reimburse people who purchased at-home tests.

The Biden administration last week announced it would order 500 million free at-home rapid tests, the first batch of which will be sent out in January. The U.S. currently has a supply of approximately 200 million tests each month.

The plan also includes setting up new testing sites across the U.S., in addition to the 20,000 operational sites, according to NBC News.

The video conference between Biden and U.S. governors comes after more than 1,000 flights in the country were canceled and over 5,000 were delayed Monday after staff and crew called out sick due to the Omicron variant. Some airlines also attributed the cancellations on winter weather.

Alaska Airlines canceled 133 flights in the Pacific Northwest and 250 mainline flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Seattle.

“We are working hard to reposition aircraft and crews to get everyone where they need to go safely,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement.

United Airlines last week said it canceled hundreds of flights due to a shortage of staff and crew members who could fly on its scheduled routes.

"The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation," United said in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by CNN.