“It’s been a dreadful situation from Day 1 of the pandemic, and I would say it’s still botched,” said Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research. “We should have an ample supply of rapid tests freely available,” as in Britain, Israel and some other countries, he added.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden announced that at-home tests would be reimbursed by insurers for the 150 million Americans who have private insurance, and that the administration would distribute an additional 25 million tests to community health centers and rural clinics, which tend to treat lower-income patients.
But the announcement drew immediate complaints from public health experts, including Dr. Topol, who objected to requiring that people go through the process of seeking reimbursement. Dr. Topol said the notion that consumers would routinely front such costs in the hope of reimbursement was “a nonstarter.”
White House officials say they are working to further expand production of at-home tests, which would in turn create market competition and, presumably, drive down the cost. Demand is only expected to grow after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed a new approach on Friday for allowing children exposed to the coronavirus to stay in school, testing at least twice over the course of a week, instead of requiring them to quarantine.
“We are continuing to do everything we can to continue to grow that supply,” Carole Johnson, the testing coordinator for the White House coronavirus response team, said in an interview Friday.
The testing push received a boost on Friday when
During any infectious disease outbreak, there are two major reasons to use tests, experts say: to determine if someone is infected, and to protect others from getting infected. To diagnose Covid, doctors generally rely on polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R., tests — highly sensitive tests that are performed in laboratories.
But with Omicron spreading quickly, experts foresee a jump in demand for rapid antigen tests, the quick version that are sold over the counter, which many people use for peace of mind.
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