Elected by voters who believed he could create a new era of stability, Biden is facing volatile markets, Americans anxious about the health of their families and a vacuum of information about how well the current vaccines will protect against the new coronavirus variant known as Omicron -- placing his administration in a "wait and see" mode that could last for at least a week, if not several more.

About the only thing Biden can count on in this politically precarious moment is that he is still unlikely to get any help from Republicans in his effort to carve a path out of the pandemic by encouraging people to face down the new threat by getting vaccinated and getting their booster shots.

Instead of greeting the Omicron threat as a moment for the nation to pull together and redouble mitigation measures to fight the virus, Republicans like Texas' Rep.

Boosters, he added, "strengthen that protection significantly."

"I know you're tired of hearing me say this," Biden allowed Monday, but "the best protection against this new variant or any of the variants out there -- the ones we've been dealing with already -- is getting fully vaccinated and getting a booster shot.

While the case works its way through the courts, it will be blocked in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Cognizant of the partisan polarization around virtually all mitigation measures at this point, the President encouraged Americans to wear their masks in crowded indoor settings as they await more news about Omicron, but he said Monday that lockdowns are off the table "for now."

"If people are vaccinated and wear their masks, there's no need for the lockdowns," he said.

In its new guidance the word "should" applies to everyone 18 and older.

Though the White House did not offer a clear explanation for the postponement of the President's remarks on the economy and the supply chain issues exacerbated by the pandemic, it was clear Monday that Omicron has injected greater unpredictability into the economic outlook for the months ahead -- another challenge for Biden as Americans worry about the price of everything from gas to groceries.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify Tuesday that the emergence of the Omicron variant poses risks to employment and economic activity as well as "increased uncertainty for inflation."

"Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people's willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions," Powell wrote in his testimony.

Much of that will depend on the trajectory of the new variant and the severity of illness that it causes.