Forbes - Biden’s 500 Million Covid Tests

Plus: Biden tests negative after Covid exposure

President Joe Biden said Tuesday the White House plans to distribute 500 million at-home Covid-19 tests to Americans starting in January in response to the surge in omicron variant Covid-19 cases. He also announced plans to set up federal testing sites (with the first one launching  in New York City this week) and to invoke the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing of testing supplies. However, Biden didn’t seem to have an answer to the simple question of why the administration seems to be so caught off guard and unprepared to deal with the new variant nearly two years into the global pandemic. 

Biden was asked if it was a “failure” that the U.S. doesn’t have an adequate amount of rapid tests, given the public health officials have been warning of a surge for months, following his remarks. “No it’s not,” Biden said. “You notice it just happened almost overnight, just in the last month. I don’t think anybody anticipated that this was going to be as rapidly spreading as it did,” he said. When asked “what took so long” to ramp up testing, the president punted and once again blamed the variant. 

The omicron variant is highly infectious and accounted for more than 73% of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. last week. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday he expects omicron will likely account for “almost 100%” of coronavirus cases in a week or two, given it has a rapid spread and doubling time of two to three days. Cities including Atlanta and Washington, D.C. are reinstating mask mandates to try and stem the surge of infections. Plus, Chicago became the latest city to mandate customers need to show proof of vaccination in order to eat inside a restaurant, go to a gym or entertainment venue starting January 3. The new wave of infections isn’t enough to sway the minds of the unvaccinated, according to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nearly 90% of unvaccinated U.S. adults say omicron will not make them any more likely to get a Covid-19 vaccine shot.

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More Covid News

CVS and Walgreens are limiting the number of at-home Covid tests customers can purchase amid skyrocketing demand. 

The Biden Administration suggested Tuesday it may extend a pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments beyond its early February expiration date. 

The federal government is considering relaxing its guidance for people with Covid-19 to isolate for 10 days after developing symptoms—particularly for healthcare workers with asymptomatic cases.

Germany’s vaccine advisory commission is recommending people get Covid-19 booster shots after three months instead of the previously recommended six months. 

New York City residents who get a booster shot at a city-run vaccination site through December 31 are eligible to receive $100, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The National Hockey League became the first major American sporting group to pause its season due to a rise in Covid-19 cases. 

European nations are taking varied approaches to tackling the omicron surge, ranging from imposing holiday lockdowns in the Netherlands to reports of tightening restrictions in Germany, France and the U.K. after Christmas.

What Else We Are Reading

• Pandemic Poses Short- and Long-Term Risks to Babies, Especially Boys (Kaiser Health News)

• Prisoners sent to home confinement because of the pandemic might remain free (NPR)

• West Virginia aiming to replace nurses lost to pandemic (Associated Press)