Millions of free COVID tests unclaimed
WASHINGTON – Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test.
Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On the first day of the White House test giveaway in January, Covidtests.gov received more than 45 million orders. Now officials said fewer than 100,000 orders a day are coming in for the packages of four free rapid tests per household, delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
Still, the White House sees the program as a step toward a deeper, yet more elastic, testing infrastructure that will accommodate demand surges and remain on standby when cases wane.
“We totally intend to sustain this market,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, testing adviser to the COVID-19 response team, told The Associated Press. “We know the market is volatile and will come up and down with surges in variants.”
The White House said Americans have placed 68 million orders for packages of tests, which leaves about 46% of stock still available to be ordered.
Testing will become more important with mask requirements easing, according to some independent experts.
“If infection control is still our priority, testing is central,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner and commentator on the pandemic. “Four tests per household for one family will only last you one time. There should be enough tests for families to test twice a week.”
Inglesby maintained the pieces are falling into place to accommodate such volume.
Private insurers are now required to cover eight free rapid tests per person, per month. Medicare coverage will start in the spring. The administration has also been making free at-home tests available through libraries, clinics and other community venues. Capacity for the more accurate PCR tests performed by labs has been built up.
The White House recently put out a request to the industry for ideas on how to sustain and expand domestic testing for the rest of this year.
Wen said people still need a guide. “Right now it is still unclear,” she said.
President Joe Biden’s pivot to testing came under duress as the omicron variant gained force just before Christmas. Tests were frustratingly hard to come by, and expensive. The White House is sensitive to criticism that help might have come too late.
“There is no question some people found out they were positive from taking one of these tests and were able to keep other people from getting infected,” said Tim Manning, supply coordinator for the COVID-19 response team.
Now that demand has plummeted, it’s unknown what will happen to the White House giveaway program. Allowing repeat orders is a possibility.
Denise Smith, executive director of the National Association of Community Health Workers, whose members help people navigate the health care system. said groups like hers should get any surplus.
“We know where the people are,” she said.