President Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Biden is scheduled on Thursday to discuss a strategy for dealing with COVID-19 this winter.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
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Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Air Force One in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Biden is scheduled on Thursday to discuss a strategy for dealing with COVID-19 this winter.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Biden will announce on Thursday that private health insurance plans will soon refund people who buy an over-the-counter COVID-19 rapid test at home – one of a series of steps the White House is taking. plan to encourage better detection and prevention of COVID this winter.
“The bottom line is that we’re really figuring out all the stops for Americans to be maximally protected as we head into the winter months and as we face this new [omicron] “Natalie Quillian, the White House’s deputy COVID response coordinator, told NPR in an interview.
Biden is set to outline his new plan at 1:40 p.m. ET at the National Institutes of Health the next day First US case of omicron variant detected in California. Officials fear this variant could spread more easily than previous strains.
There are no blockbuster announcements, no major new missions or goals to rapidly increase the number of Americans immunized. Instead, Biden’s plan to fight the virus this winter is an incremental battle: a ramped up vaccine effort in the arms of all adults and especially the elderly, set up establish family vaccine clinics, provide free and lower-cost at-home testing options, stockpile antiretroviral drugs, and have strike squads ready to help outbreak states.
At-home tests will be refunded, just like other COVID tests
Home COVID-19 testing boxes made by Abbott and Quidel are on display November 15 at a CVS store in Lakewood, Wash., south of Seattle.
Ted S. Warren / AP
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Ted S. Warren / AP
Home COVID-19 testing boxes made by Abbott and Quidel are on display November 15 at a CVS store in Lakewood, Wash., south of Seattle.
Ted S. Warren / AP
One of the new elements will be requiring private health insurers to refund people who buy tests at home – just as they are currently required to cover tests done at the labs. pharmacies and laboratories. This will reduce costs for more than 150 million Americans with private insurance, once the rule is finalized and in effect in the new year.
“We think this is the right policy,” Quillian told NPR. “We also think it’s the most economical policy, because the cost for an individual to get COVID and go to the hospital and look up those bills is much higher than for any rapid at-home test.”
For those without private insurance, the government will buy an additional 25 million tests to supply to community health centers and rural clinics. In September, the White House ramped up production of home tests with $3 billion in spending, which included 25 million tests for underserved communities.
“Our supply of these rapid tests has quadrupled this month from where we were at the end of the summer,” Quillian said. “We’ve invested a lot of resources into this.”
There will be some new regulations for tourists
The administration will also require all travelers to the United States to be tested for COVID within 24 hours of departing their trip. use a virus test. This will apply to returning Americans, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, as well as foreign visitors.
But there are no new requirements for testing after arriving in the US, or for quarantine after returning from a trip.
The government will extend the requirement to wear masks on planes and public transport until March 18.
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The White House also wants to try to increase the number of people getting booster shots. In total, 100 million adults have yet to receive a booster shot.
So far, only half of US seniors have received the booster shot, which the administration has stressed will help protect them against the new variant. Photos have been available to seniors since September.
The administration will work with pharmacies and AARP on outreach campaigns to encourage people to book appointments, and will offer evening and weekend clinics. The government will also roll out vaccination days in the family so that adults can get a booster shot when taking their children in for vaccinations.
“I think for working families, for busy moms and dads, this is a really hopefully convenient way for them to get their booster shots and their kids vaccinated at the same time.” Quillian said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also ready to release information about a “test to stay” policy that allows children exposed to COVID to stay in school as long as they consistently test negative for the virus. , instead of recommending the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Rihanna Chihuaque, 7, gets a COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago in this November 12 photo.
Image by Scott Olson / Getty
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Image by Scott Olson / Getty
Rihanna Chihuaque, 7, gets a COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago in this November 12 photo.
Image by Scott Olson / Getty
