‘We’ve learned absolutely nothing’: Tests could again be in short supply if Covid surges
The United States could yet again find itself with too few Covid-19 tests if Congress fails to authorize new funds and cases surge, warn White House officials, diagnostic manufacturers and public health experts.
The Biden administration estimates that the testing market will remain stable until the early summer, but rapidly falling demand for once-popular at-home Covid-19 tests is leading some manufacturers to cut back.
“If we get to a point where companies really are turning off lines or laying off people — are not making investments in the Covid test market — and we have another surge, then we will not be ready to go,” Tom Inglesby, White House senior adviser for Covid response, told POLITICO. “We will be in a situation that is potentially much worse than what we had with Omicron.” [Continue reading…]