Warning of Winter Virus Surge, White House Revives * FREE HOME COVID TEST* Program
- Common Dreams, Dec. 15, 2022. Ed. "This is not one disease in isolation," said the president's Covid-19 response coordinator. - "We are very aware that this increase that we're seeing in Covid is in that context of one of the worst flu seasons in a decade & RSV that was quite bad." - 👨🍳 🌝
Amid rising fears of various illnesses going into the winter, the Biden administration on Thursday resumed its program for mailing 4 free at-home Covid-19 tests to every U.S. household that requests them. - "Starting today, every household can order 4 free Covid tests to be shipped straight to your door."
- The free tests, which are set to start shipping via the U.S. Postal Service next week, can now be ordered online at Covidtests.gov, or by phone at 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).
The administration launched the program in mid-Jan., nearly 3 years into the Covid-19 pandemic. After distributing more than 600 Mill tests, the administration halted the program in early Sept. due to Republicans in Congress obstructing funds. "We're able to reopen Covidtests.gov for a limited round because, in the absence of congressional funding, we've acted within our limited resources to buy more at-home tests for our national stockpile," a sr. administration official said on a call with reporters Wednesday.
Reviving the test program is part of the Biden administration's "winter preparedness plan" for Covid-19. The official explained that "our plan is focused on a few different things. - 1. making it even easier for Americans to access the tools we know work to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, or worse—like vaccines, tests, & treatments." - "2. we're standing ready to support states & communities with personnel, supplies, & other resources to get more shots in arms & meet urgent clinical needs as they arise," the official con't. - 3. accelerating our efforts to protect the highest-risk Americans, in partnership with states, at nursing homes & other long-term care facilities, starting with updated vaccinations."
Along with mailing more free tests & continuing to support access to them "in schools, community health centers, rural health clinics, long-term care facilities, & other convenient locations," the administration is "distributing free at-home tests at more than 6,500 Department of Housing and Urban Development-assisted rental housing properties serving seniors; & expanding a program to distribute free at-home tests to as many as 500 major food banks for them to distribute," according to a White House fact sheet...https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/12/15/warning-winter-surge-white-house-revives-free-home-covid-test-program
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