WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The White House appointed Dr. Tom Inglesby to head the government’s COVID-19 test initiative. Jen Psaki, Jen Psaki’s press secretary, said Tuesday.

Psaki posted the confirmation in a Twitter tweet (NYSE:). This appointment comes at a time when the federal government is trying to intensify testing for the Omicron variant, which has been rapidly expanding.

“Dr. Inglesby is one of the world’s leading infectious disease experts and is internationally recognized in the fields of public health preparedness, pandemic and emerging infectious disease, and prevention of and response to biological threats,” a White House official told Reuters.

The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11, shattering the global record for daily cases in any one country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Omicron accounts for 98.3% total cases in this country.

Critics claim that President Joe Biden has not focused enough on testing to fight Omicron overgrowth and hospitalizations. This is despite growing reports of severe shortages in test kits across the nation.

The White House, along with top officials in health have responded to the criticisms. This included announcing that 500,000,000 rapid tests will be made available for free for Americans starting January.