Where are our COVID-19 tests?

After a year of massive campaigning and infrastructure creation to get “shots in arms,” we are wondering where are our COVID-19 tests? Especially after the idea of getting “tests in hands” was laughable to White House Press Secretary Psaki, and as we head into weeks of indoor family gatherings across the country, testing is one of the most important steps we can take in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and all its variants. Even with much-anticipated vaccines, deaths from COVID-19 in 2021 have already outpaced deaths from COVID-19 in 2020. If we hope to beat back the virus that has already taken so much from us, we are going to need a coordinated, data-informed national campaign based on our actual reality and not our desired circumstances. 

After laughing at the need for greater testing accessibility, the White House seems to have embraced the idea — but only after the highly transmissible omicron variant became the dominant strain in the United States — and weeks of growing concern. 

President Biden announced Tuesday that in January, health insurance will begin to cover at-home tests and half a billion rapid tests will become available for free to be delivered at home. He also noted that in the coming days federal testing facilities will be set up to increase testing availability. 

As experts in policy and pandemic response, we know that testing — especially now, as we head into a season of indoor cozy, dangerous gatherings — is key to saving lives. And as individuals who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, the slow response from the White House regarding testing so far will devastate or disable millions who can’t wait until January for a test. Omicron has been circulating globally for weeks, so ramping even now is behind the curve.

As we learned in the first few years of the AIDS crisis, a culture of free, easy testing is no laughing matter. Despite the existence of reliable HIV tests, it took years of outreach, mass-market campaigns and delivering tests exactly where they were needed — first through mobile testing sites and more recently through CDC-funded mail programs similar to the one Psaki recently scoffed at — to create a culture of regular testing and a desire to “know your status,” especially before engaging in behaviors that favor disease transmission. 

Until now, the White House has made only vague promises to make free tests available. As we head into the holiday season, free tests in January will likely  be too little too late. Once the free tests are quickly claimed online, those with insurance will have access to additional tests – if they’re lucky enough to find some.     

Health insurance reimbursements for rapid tests don’t make them free, they make them a hassle — and according to most experts, will increase insurance premiums and test prices. Plus, many families don’t have the time or resources to fill out paperwork or get on the phone with notoriously difficult customer service hotlines that only make the process of taking a rapid test that much harder. It’s time to cut the middle-man, tear down the red tape, and deliver for Americans and our public health — now.  

Anyone can see, demand for tests is there. In New Hampshire, famous for their “Live Free or Die” motto, the pilot program for sending tests to residents ran out of supply the day the program launched. People all over the country want to be safe. We want to reduce the spread of COVID-19, enjoy the holidays with our families and remain healthy through it all. But we need President Biden to deliver on his promise for bold action and give us the tools to do so.

Perhaps even more dangerous than the lack of tests right now is the tepid messaging coming from our leaders regarding safety around the holidays. Without a big, public push to encourage testing before gathering, the White House and other administration officials are essentially rubber-stamping a massive network of superspreader events across the country. 

We absolutely should be sending tests to every American household for the duration of the pandemic — for free. Finally, it seems the White House is on onboard. Other countries such as Germany and South Korea have figured out how to do this for the sake of their citizens. We know that this type of large-scale distribution and public awareness effort is possible here in the U.S.; our vaccination efforts should be a roadmap for the scope and scale needed to adequately shift testing behaviors. 

Last November, after winning the presidential election,  Biden warned that the United States was approaching a “very dark winter” as cases of COVID-19 neared 10 million. Now, after almost 50 million cases, and nearly 800,000 deaths, that dark winter has become our reality for the second year in a row.  

As Biden announced his plan to combat the spread of COVID-19 and its variants this winter, his previous call for “bold action to fight this pandemic” has remained unfulfilled. He made progress Tuesday after much delay.

If officials at the White House stepped outside the gates and tried to find a test on their own; they’d quickly realize the alarm we’re sounding is warranted. Without fast implementation of available testing, we’ll be heading into a longer, darker winter than ever before. 

Christine Keeves, MPH, is co-founder and chief of communications for Marked by COVID, a grassroots advocacy organization led by policy, organizing and communications experts.

Kristin Urquiza, MPA, is co-founder and chief activist of Marked by COVID.