As the Omicron variant took hold in the United States over the past few weeks, it quickly became painfully obvious that the country didn't have enough tests to meet the skyrocketing demand. In New York City, where the seven-day average of new confirmed cases was nearing the 10,000 mark as of this past weekend (up from about 800 in early November), hours-long lines at testing sites have become commonplace and at-home rapid tests are nearly impossible to find on pharmacy shelves.
Difficulty getting at-home tests is a uniquely American problem among the U.S.' peer nations. When I recently posted about the issue on social media, friends from The Netherlands to Israel were dumbfounded at the idea that tests were hard to come by; one Swede told me they're available at every gas station there for about $6. The problem, as this excellent ProPublica reporting makes clear, is that U.S. regulators have been too slow to approve multiple kinds of at-home rapid tests. That led to low availability and high prices as two companies were essentially allowed to dominate a market that should have dozens of participants.
To address the price problem, the Biden Administration earlier this month announced that private health insurers would be required to reimburse people's at-home test purchases. But that strategy has inherent flaws: it doesn't do anything to make tests easier to find, it assumes that people have the time and energy to go through a reimbursement process—and if you've ever tried to claw back money from your insurance company, you know what kind of a nightmare that can be—and it doesn't help the approximately 28 million uninsured Americans. (To be fair, the White House has also spent billions investing in rapid test production and on sending tests to community centers, the fruits of which are beginning to pay off.)
Now the White House is doing what it should've done weeks ago: U.S. President Joe Biden announced today that his administration is purchasing half a billion at-home rapid tests, and any American who wants one will be able to go online and request that one is sent to their home for free beginning next month. It's exactly the idea that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to mock not even a month ago, triggering bewilderment among public health experts across the country and the world.
"We have to do more, we have to do better," Biden said while announcing the plan. "And we will."
Rapid tests alone can't end the pandemic. Only about 20% of the U.S. population has received a booster shot, leaving four of every five Americans at greater risk of severe disease from Omicron. They can, however, help break the chains of transmission. At this point in the pandemic, taking a rapid test before getting together with lots of people should be as routine as grabbing your keys and wallet before heading out the door. But when at-home rapid tests cost $15-20 a pack, that's out of the question for most people.
The White House should've spent the last few months flinging free rapid tests at Americans across the country like souvenir T-shirts at a ballgame. Instead, we're living through yet another pandemic holiday season marred by an inescapable sense of unease as the virus once again surges and hospitals fill to the brim. Making tests freely available is a welcome move, of course. But the Administration and the country should have been better prepared for the winter surge that experts have long predicted was coming.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 275.4 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and nearly 5.4 million people have died. On Dec. 20, there were 758,179 new cases and 6,419 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 51.1 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 807,900 people have died. On Dec. 20, there were 253,954 new cases and 1,513 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Dec. 21, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Omicron variant accounts for 73% of new infections in the U.S. as of last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday. That's a sixfold increase in just a week, a blisteringly fast rise to dominance. While some public health experts remain hopeful that Omicron causes less severe disease—a belief supported by some of the early data out of South Africa—it remains too early to tell whether that will indeed be the case.
The death of an unvaccinated Houston area man is the first known fatality in the U.S. tied to the Omicron variant, the Washington Postreports. Local public health officials said the death underscored the importance of getting vaccinated and boosted as the new variant spreads rapidly around the country.
Along those lines: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that anyone getting their booster shot across the five boroughs before Dec. 31 will get $100, an incentive that may increase uptake.
Those traveling within the European Union must get their booster shot if they received their first dose more than nine months prior, per new rules implemented today. The change is one of the strongest signals yet that the definition of "fully vaccinated" as it relates to travel and entry requirements is evolving to include boosters. That's an important development, given that such doses provide extra protection against the Omicron variant.
The National Hockey League has become the first major U.S. sports league to totally suspend play amid a widespread outbreak among players and staff. While the NHL is only stopping play through Dec. 27 and teams get a few days off for the holidays every year anyway, it remains a significant development as sports leagues continue to grapple with the latest surge. The NHL's involvement in the Beijing Olympics, meanwhile, looks increasingly unlikely.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Mandy Oaklander.
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