US offers free at-home Covid testing as part of winter plan
As cases rise, the Biden administration restarted a program that provided hundreds of millions of tests through the Postal Service.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration restarted a program on Thursday that provides free coronavirus testing to U.S. households through the Postal Service, part of a new government push to avoid the rise in virus cases and hospitalizations during the holiday season.
Federal health officials are seeing a resurgence of the virus along with worrying outbreaks of flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., equivalent to what some experts have called "tripledemic".
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House's Covid-19 response coordinator, told a news conference that while R.S.V. cases appeared to be declining as the country faced the worst flu outbreak in a decade alongside another coronavirus outbreak. He again urged Americans, especially the older and more vulnerable, to seek out vaccines and boosters.
"We don't want this winter to look like last winter or the winter before, and it's not necessary," Dr. Jha told reporters at the White House. "We need people to get this vaccine."
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">More than 600 million tests were distributed through the mail before the administration suspended the program in September, citing a lack of funding.The program is restarting after federal officials have tapped into what the White House described as “limited existing funding” for the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was signed into law early in President Biden’s term.Households can now order four tests on covidtests.gov, with shipments beginning next week.Testing is one part of a broader Covid-19 "winter preparedness plan". which the White House rolled out on Thursday, reflecting growing anxiety over a cold-weather surge in virus cases across the country.
Cases rose further by 40% over the past two weeks, and hospitalizations have increased by more than 20%, adding pressure to medical centers already awash with flu and R.S.V. Deaths also increased during this period; an average of around 450 per day has been reported over the past week.
Two sub-variants of Omicron, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which can more easily evade immune defenses than other recent variants, have largely driven the rise in cases and now account for approximately two-thirds of cases in the United States.
The Biden administration has urged Americans to update their protection by getting one of the reworded boosters that were introduced in September, but reaction to the new vaccines has been lukewarm. About 14% of Americans ages 5 and older have received an updated reminder. Among those aged 65 and over, an age group that includes people particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, barely a third of people have received one of the new vaccines.
As cases rise, the Biden administration restarted a program that provided hundreds of millions of tests through the Postal Service.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration restarted a program on Thursday that provides free coronavirus testing to U.S. households through the Postal Service, part of a new government push to avoid the rise in virus cases and hospitalizations during the holiday season.
Federal health officials are seeing a resurgence of the virus along with worrying outbreaks of flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., equivalent to what some experts have called "tripledemic".
Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House's Covid-19 response coordinator, told a news conference that while R.S.V. cases appeared to be declining as the country faced the worst flu outbreak in a decade alongside another coronavirus outbreak. He again urged Americans, especially the older and more vulnerable, to seek out vaccines and boosters.
"We don't want this winter to look like last winter or the winter before, and it's not necessary," Dr. Jha told reporters at the White House. "We need people to get this vaccine."
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">More than 600 million tests were distributed through the mail before the administration suspended the program in September, citing a lack of funding.The program is restarting after federal officials have tapped into what the White House described as “limited existing funding” for the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was signed into law early in President Biden’s term.Households can now order four tests on covidtests.gov, with shipments beginning next week.Testing is one part of a broader Covid-19 "winter preparedness plan". which the White House rolled out on Thursday, reflecting growing anxiety over a cold-weather surge in virus cases across the country.
Cases rose further by 40% over the past two weeks, and hospitalizations have increased by more than 20%, adding pressure to medical centers already awash with flu and R.S.V. Deaths also increased during this period; an average of around 450 per day has been reported over the past week.
Two sub-variants of Omicron, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which can more easily evade immune defenses than other recent variants, have largely driven the rise in cases and now account for approximately two-thirds of cases in the United States.
The Biden administration has urged Americans to update their protection by getting one of the reworded boosters that were introduced in September, but reaction to the new vaccines has been lukewarm. About 14% of Americans ages 5 and older have received an updated reminder. Among those aged 65 and over, an age group that includes people particularly vulnerable to Covid-19, barely a third of people have received one of the new vaccines.
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