Only 61.7 per cent of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to CDC data.Meanwhile, last week President Joe Biden announced a plan to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests to Americans beginning in January. The tests will be delivered by mail to Americans who request them. A website to request the tests will launch in January, according to the administration.However, the Omicron surge has created a massive rush for tests, which according to Fauci is a failure of the federal government.”Obviously, testing is going to be very important, that we get a greater capability of testing, particularly when the demand for testing is so high,” Fauci said.Fauci noted that the US is seeing “the combination of the Omicron variant itself, as well as the holiday season, where people want to get that extra level of assuredness that they’re protected,” even if you are vaccinated and boosted.”One of the problems is that that’s not going to be totally available to everyone until we get to January, and there are still some issues now of people having trouble getting tested, but we’re addressing the testing problem, and that very soon that will be corrected” he said.Further, he said that there were “essentially no rapid points of care home tests available” in the beginning of the Biden administration in 2021.”Now there are over nine of them and more coming”, he said adding “the production of them has been rapidly upscaled”.Last week, Biden was quoted as saying on ABC News that he wished he “had thought about ordering” 500 million at-home tests “two months ago”. Biden added “nothing’s been good enough” when it comes to the availability of at-home tests.
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