The Daily A Covid Testing Crisis, Again
Dec 22, 2021
Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times focusing on health policy, shares insights on the latest COVID-19 testing crisis. She discusses how vaccine confidence led to a drop in testing demand, only for it to surge again with the Omicron variant. Stolberg highlights the challenges of matching testing supply to demand, the federal initiative to distribute millions of at-home tests, and public frustrations over accessibility. The conversation emphasizes the urgent need for effective government responses in a rapidly changing pandemic landscape.
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Long Lines for COVID Tests
- Michael Barbaro and Michael Simon Johnson interviewed people waiting in line for COVID tests.
- People waited for hours, losing wages and missing school, highlighting testing challenges.
Early Testing Challenges
- The US struggled with testing early in the pandemic due to a flawed CDC test and slow private sector involvement.
- President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to boost test production.
Vaccine Impact on Testing
- When vaccines arrived, testing demand decreased, leading to closed testing sites and destroyed tests.
- Abbott Laboratories destroyed millions of tests due to decreased demand.