At-home COVID testing a no-brainer
Then why doesn’t the U.S. have it?
The United States is nearly two years into this pandemic, and yet Americans still don’t have widespread, affordable access to a crucial tool: athome coronavirus testing.
Every single household in the United States should have a free supply of coronavirus tests to be used whenever needed. It could take some pressure off of worrying about symptoms and searching around for a testing appointment.
In places such as Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, cheap or free at-home tests are plentiful.
Citizens of the United Kingdom, for example, can order a free pack of seven athome rapid tests to be sent to their home every single day if they need to, officials recently announced.
But here in the United States, even the cheapest athome test will run you about $25 — and that’s only if you can manage to track one down at a local pharmacy.
Many testing centers are free, but getting to one, especially if you’re feeling sick or don’t have a car, can be a challenge, and not everyone can afford a $25 test every time they have a sniffle, need to travel or were exposed to COVID-19.
“There are some hurdles to testing here in the U.S., and I think a reliable, free or low cost at-home test would help,” Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, infectious disease physician at Tufts Medical Center, said.
She said at-home testing efforts have worked very well in other countries and have been a great pandemic strategy in combination with vaccination.
Andujar noted that there haven’t been as many athome tests available here due to lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the testing systems.
Earlier this week, though, the FDA approved a new rapid, at-home test from ACON Laboratories, which will likely retail for around $10, according to White House COVID-19 Coordinator Jeff Zients.
Following that news, the Biden administration announced a $1 billion investment to expand manufacturing and speed up production of rapid tests.
Zients said there will be a supply of 200 million rapid at-home tests per month starting in December, which is certainly encouraging. Better late than never.
Michael Mina, a Harvard epidemiologist who has been a prominent advocate for rapid testing since the start of the pandemic, called the latest Biden administration move a “good step in the right direction” but said more tests are still needed and that even a $10 price tag is too expensive.
“We need to see these tests as the critical public health tools they are and authorize many more of them for their public health benefits,” Mina said.
Many people don’t bother to get a COVID test due to the hassle and could end up spreading the virus in the meantime. Other people still don’t even know how to go about getting tested.
We can put an end to this with easy at-home testing for all.