This One Will Really Have You Scratching Your Head.

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   Sharlee01posted 2 years ago

   
   Did not Bidin state all would be able to obtain free COVID testing Kits by the middle of January?  Were we not going to be required to order this test on a website that Biden claimed would be up soon? And did he not state he would be providing 500 million COVID tests?  And was he not the guy that said --- I am going to shut it down in his oh so creepy whispery voice? 
   
   Omicron today --  U.S. breaks COVID-19 hospitalization record at over 132,000 as Omicron surges. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-bre … 022-01-10/
   
   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Insurance companies will be required to cover eight over-the-counter at-home coronavirus tests per person each month starting Saturday, the Biden administration said, expanding access to highly sought-after kits as Americans grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases.
   
   The White House also said on Monday that there is no limit to the number of COVID-19 tests, including at-home tests, that insurers must cover if they are ordered or administered by a health care provider.
   
   The measures are part of a bid by President Joe Biden to make testing more widely available to Americans facing soaring coronavirus cases due to the highly infectious Omicron variant.
   
   In a speech in December, Biden outlined plans to distribute 500 million at-home coronavirus test kits and stand up new federal testing sites, adding to the 20,000 already in existence. However, experts decried the announcement as "too little too late" amid testing shortages nationwide.
   
   White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that Americans should be able to order the tests online later this month, noting that all contracts for rapid tests should be awarded over the next two weeks. The first was signed last week.
   
   Under the insurer coverage plan announced Monday, the administration said that insurers are still required to reimburse tests purchased by consumers outside of their network, at a rate of up to $12 per individual test.
   
   It was not immediately clear what incentives were offered to insurers to agree to the plan. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
   https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles … hite-house
   
   Dec 21 0221 --"The White House is preparing to ship as many as 500 million kits, and it is setting up a website for people to submit their requests, the official said, without specifying how many tests each household can receive or how quickly."  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white- … e-n1286356
   
   As if yet no website or free tests, and I wonder if Joe realizes the Test Kits can range from $25.00 and up... And hate to tell him, kits are impossible to find,  shelves are bare... Many citizens are waiting hours in cars and freezing temperatures to be tested.
   
   This administration was well aware that Omicron was a super spreader for months, and ignored the problems that this virus would bring. Again poor problem solving, and a half-ass-backward attempt to placate Americans with ridiculous meaningless promises.
   
   Hopefully, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and  House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., will get the joint hearing into President Biden’s "failed" COVID-19 pandemic response. This president exhibited time after time he is inept and creates unnecessary problems.
   
   I can honestly say, I am confident this would have not happened under Trump. My God all he needed to do is obtain testing kits. It's not like we depended on him to get vaccines; PPE; pop-up hospitals; vents...

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      wildernessposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      "It's not like we depended on him to get vaccines; PPE; pop-up hospitals; vents..."
      
      Be glad that you did not depend on him getting those things.  Or sending hospital ships or convincing car manufacturers to make ventilators or other companies to make masks or a dozen other things.  You may not have been here on the forums had you had to depend on Biden to do them.

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      1. 85

         Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Today Biden announced he would be sending out N95 masked to all homes, and  --  Washington (CNN)The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new initiatives to provide an additional 10 million Covid-19 tests per month to schools and students in an effort to keep classrooms open.
         
         The administration will distribute 5 million free rapid tests and 5 million free PCR tests to schools each month, according to an administration fact sheet. Oh, and he also appointed a federal testing czar. This is so wonderful. Just like he appointed Harris as his Border Czar.
         
         Have you got the free test kit he promised us all last month? LOL
         
         I wonder when he will get the memo --- most have moved on, and don't care to listen to his BS about COVID. In my view, he is making himself look very foolish, and pointing to the fact (IMO) that he has done nothing to curb COVID, and he is a day late and a dollar short.

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2. 85

   Sharlee01posted 2 years ago

   So true...  My entire family had Omicron over Christmas -- we had mild symptoms and were so thankful we had been vacinated.
   
   I feel the country is spinning out of control. This testing problem has hit Michigan hard. I am sure you picked up my sentiments from my rant...  Are you having a testing problem where you live?

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      wildernessposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I really don't know as I haven't been tested for some time, don't need to and don't know anyone that has had that need.  So I don't know how hard it would be to get a test here.

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         Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         This is good to hear... It would seem you must live in a state that did not have a severe outbreak of Omicron.

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   Nathanvilleposted 2 years ago

   Wow, that’s quite an eye opener. 
   
   Do you see any chance of the free test kits becoming available in America in the foreseeable future?
   
   The test kits in the UK are free, and since March 2021 every adult in the UK has been entitled to two free test kits per week, and no insurance costs because the NHS is free at the point of use and paid for from Government taxes.   Although in practice there is no limit to how many test kits you pick up (hoard) because there’s no paperwork involved when you pick them up from your local pharmacist, you just help yourself to a supply, just like helping yourself to a handful of free sweeties.
   
   You can even get the NHS to post the kits to you on a regular basis free of charge and free postage if you want (saves you having to nip to your local pharmacist to pick up a free supply).
   
   There was a shortage of kits just before Christmas when demand surged; so the UK Government has now increased the production from 100 million kits a month to 300 million kits a month to meet c

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      Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      "Do you see any chance of the free test kits becoming available in America in the foreseeable future?"
      
      No, nor do I see insurance companies paying for the tests as Biden is claiming they will. You are very lucky to have free kits. We pay hell to even find a kit to purchase.  Some states such as Florida looked beyond the Fed Gov, and have provided ample test kits for their citizens.  My sister lives in Florida and is shipping me some.
      
      In my view this was avoidable, but we have a President that is inept. He makes problems at every turn.  He certainly knew Omicron would provide an increased need of testing supplies, he saw how quickly it spread in the UK, and South Africa.  I can find no excuse for the problem we are seeing at this point with tests, and waiting many days to obtain a vaccine if desired.  He begs people to be vaccinated yet when one wants to be vaccinated we wait for days.
      
      Sorry for my rant --- I have become overly disgusted with this president.
      And I might add -- thank you for taking the time to comment. So pleased to see you are interested in current problems.

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         Fayetteville Fayeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         At the Federal level President Biden got the American Rescue Plan passed.  Including substantial money to the states to combat and manage the virus locally to their own populations.
         
         "COVID-19 containment and vaccination, aid to state and local governments, and increased federal spending ($750 billion): this category includes both the direct $350 billion in state and local aid, as well as money for vaccination, testing and tracing, and reopening schools;"
         
         Now obviously some states have been more effective than others. Yes, Florida chose to stockpile so many tests that they let one million of them expire. I suppose that that was their governor's prerogative though.
         But again, in the divisive spirit that permeates our country, any sort of federal response to anything draws immediate opposition from far too many.
         States have been given the resources and can act more quickly and in more targeted ways based on their specific populations and state landscapes. The last thing we need is a one size fits all response from a cumbersome, bogged down slow federal government.
         
         This virus is moving to rapidly. It seems as though science is even struggling to keep up.
         "An omicron-specific Covid vaccine will be ready by March but some experts warn it could be "too late" due to the variant's highly transmissible nature.
         Dr. William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It still could be valuable but I do think in many ways, it's too late" for the current omicron wave, Moss says.
         
         Dr. Shaun Truelove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, agrees: "Given how quickly this [variant] is happening, [the targeted vaccine] may not matter because everybody's going to be infected," says Truelove, a member of The Covid Scenario Modeling Hub, a team of researchers who make Covid projections.
         
         The variant spread so quickly that vaccine developers could not make a targeted vaccine in time.
         
         Ultimately I would never expect that the federal government could move more swiftly to combat a virus than a company motivated by huge profit. 
         
         The states our are best hope.
         https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/10/omicron … -late.html
         
         https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politi … e-n1287174

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         1. 85

            Sharlee01posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            I am well aware of what could and should have been done at the state level. Way back in Sept Biden stated he would use the Defense Production Act and spend 1 billion dollars to obtain much-needed tests. Just two days ago he got around to signing the contract to obtain those tests. https://nypost.com/2021/12/23/biden-has … vid-tests/
            
            By Oct he skrewed that up --- And backed away from ordering the tests.
            "The Biden Administration Rejected an October Proposal for “Free Rapid Tests for the Holidays”
            
            "With omicron cases spreading like wildfire, the White House is finally taking steps to make free antigen tests available to all. But this fall, Vanity Fair has learned, it dismissed a bold plan to ramp up rapid testing ahead of the holidays. Frustrated experts explain how confusion, distrust, and a single-minded fixation on vaccinating Americans left testing on the back burner for so long."
            
            This article should help you understand the situation--- One such problem yes many states had cash, but no power to get the companies to speed up production. This is where the Fed Gov needed to step in with Defense Production Act. Which Biden did this week... A bit late in my view.  https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/12 … e-holidays
            
            Lots of excuses...  I provide all of Bidens promises, and he knew very well that Omicron was a super spreader.  Omicron overtook South Africa as well as the UK within a matter of weeks. "Which variant of COVID-19 was first detected in South Africa?
            
            On November 24, 2021, South Africa reported the identification of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.1.529, to the World Health Organization (WHO). B.1.1.529 was first detected in specimens collected on November 11, 2021 in Botswana and on November 14, 2021 in South Africa."
            
            He needs to stop talking and making promises. 
            
            Not really interested in any excuses for this problem that Biden caused. It was not his first or will it be his last.  He needs to be pulled in front of Congress and investigated for his failure to produce these much-needed COVID tests in a timely fashion. 
            
            Not interested in new vaccines at this point, need tests to confirm the illness right now.
            
            And IMO Desantis is doing a good job with testing, getting people vaccinated without waiting 3 to 4 days, and he has the therapeutic to treat people that do get sick.  Plus his economy is stable, and the kids have been in school for the duration of the pandemic.  I could not respect this man any more than I do.

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               Fayetteville Fayeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Let me propose this thought.
               Early in the pandemic, we  had an undertesting problem. Now we are overtesting those who are immune and asymptomatic. A person with immunity to the coronavirus will fight off an infection. But during and after the person’s exposure to the virus, it’s common for a low number of virus particles to be detectable in the nose. In medicine, I see they call this virus a “colonizer” , a pathogen that does not cause illness or spread the illness. It’s an incidental finding.   But in today’s world of routine coronavirus testing of vaccinated people, these positive tests are inflating the number of positive cases in a misleading way.
               Has the current frenzied state of testing become a hindrance or is it still helpful? Additionally, I am still reading reports that are casting doubt on these tests ability to accurately give a result when Omicron is involved.

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         CHRIS57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         There seems to be a "technical" issue with the CDC guidelines for approving rapid test kits.
         
         From what i read, only less than a dozen types are certified in the USA. In my country, in the EU more than 100 different test kits are certified. Don´t know about the UK.
         
         The outcome is obvious. Absolutely no shortage of test kits in Europe, no matter you buy them in a supermarket, grocery store or pharmacy, not to mention public test centers. Potential shortcomings in accuracy are accepted, because any positive rapid test requires a follow up with a full PCR test.
         
         With respect to the USA politics: Do you think the Biden administration should force the CDC into something (Change the approval guidelines)?

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            Nathanvilleposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            There is only one rapid test kit in the UK.
            
            •    Back in the summer of 2020 the UK Government put out to tender to British manufactures to produce lateral flow test kits for trial.
            
            •    In August 2020 the Government picked three test kits for trial, and during September used the army to conduct mass testing trials in three separate towns.
            
            •    Then in the autumn of 2020 the Government picked the winning lateral flow kit for mass testing a city of half a million, with the aid of the army, as a mass pilot.
            
            Liverpool city, England, tests 100,000 in England’s first city-wide lateral flow Covid testing pilot: - https://youtu.be/G0wSNXGtTk8
            
            •    Finally, the Government commissioned the winning British manufacturer to manufacture enough rapid flow tests from March 2021 for two free kits per week for every adult in the UK.   Each pack contains 7 kits e.g. three weeks supply for one person, plus a spare.  The Government covers the cost of the test kits and the NHS takes responsibility of them e.g. the NHS pays the pharmacists to hand them out, or post them if requested (free postage); so that to the public they are free, and freely available.
            
            In the UK you are asked to record on-line all your lateral flow test results on the central NHS database, regardless to whether your result is positive, negative or void.  And certainly if you test positive with a lateral flow test and want a free PCR test you have to register your result, as you do if you test negative and want to use it to get a covid passport from the NHS.  But otherwise, I doubt people bother that often to record their results.
            
            Do you have a similar requirement (request) to register your lateral flow test results in Germany or USA?
            
            

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