December 02, 2021
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Adalja does not report any relevant financial information.
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president Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new nine-point plan to fight COVID-19 during the winter months, free home testing and tightening restrictions on travelers to the United States.
The plan was announced a day after officials confirmed the first U.S. case of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Under President Biden’s new plan, COVID-19 tests at home would be fully covered by private insurance companies. Source: Adobe Stock.
“The plan I am announcing today has no impact on the fight against COVID-19 and I think it should unite us,” said Biden during a speech, noting that the pandemic “has been very divisive in this country. ”
“Now that we are moving into winter and facing the challenges of this new twist, this is a moment when we can leave the division behind, I hope,” he said.
According to the plan, privately insured people can have home tests reimbursed by their health insurance company. Those who are not privately insured can access free home tests at community health centers and clinics.
Making home testing more available and affordable was a focus of the previous national plan Biden announced in September, but the US continues to lag other countries in this area, experts said.
Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the cost of home testing in the US made it too expensive to be used optimally.
Amesh A. Adalja
“The reimbursement of insurance does not happen in real time and means more government involvement in the insurance industry,” Adalja told Healio. “Why are the costs so high? This may be because these tests are regulated as medical diagnostic tests rather than public health tests and therefore, to me, have high regulatory requirements that are costly. These costs are passed on to the consumer. “
Adalja suggested that COVID-19 tests could be distributed in the same way that fentanyl strips are distributed to injectable drug users to test heroin for the presence of the synthetic opioid.
“They are harm reduction tools and this is how home testing should be thought of,” he said.
Under the new plan, the US will now require all incoming international travelers to submit a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel, regardless of vaccination status. The administration had previously said that vaccinated travelers could present a negative test within 3 days of travel.
In addition, the White House said a mask mandate on all public transportation will remain in place through at least March 18. The fines will double from a minimum of $ 500 to $ 3,000 for each non-compliance.
The new plan also includes steps to get more Americans to get a booster shot of COVID-19.
Earlier this week, the CDC expanded its booster recommendation to say that everyone over the age of 18 should receive an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pharmacies across the country will be launching education campaigns to encourage adults to get booster doses and HHS will be launching a public booster awareness campaign focusing on seniors, the White House said.
Biden again urged companies to offer their employees paid time off to get a booster dose and that employees should bring family members or children to be vaccinated. He said AARP has pledged to offer seniors free rides to get booster vaccinations.
The other six points of the plan focus on vaccinating children to keep schools open, protecting the workplace, using rapid response teams to tackle the rising cases, providing treatment pills to prevent hospitalizations and deaths, providing further assistance the global vaccine effort and ensuring that the US is “prepared for any scenario,” said the White House.
Pediatric vaccines and test to stay strategy
According to the plan, hundreds of family vaccination clinics are to be set up. The clinics, which will expand nationwide, will offer vaccines for entire families, including basic and booster doses for parents, adolescents and children.
Additionally, Medicaid programs will pay healthcare providers to speak with parents about the importance of vaccinating their children against COVID-19. According to the plan, Medicaid will also cover vaccination counseling for all adolescents up to the age of 21.
To ensure schools stay open, the administration will issue a new “Safe School Checklist” that will give schools a clear plan to vaccinate as many staff and students as possible.
Additionally, Biden said the CDC is reviewing new approaches, including “test-to-stay guidelines” that could allow students to stay in school and get tested frequently after a classmate tests positive.
“So far, you’re going home and going into quarantine,” said Biden. “But instead of being sent home in quarantine, they can stay because a test will be available and regularly.”
Protection of jobs
Biden urged employers to require their workers to have a COVID-19 vaccine or weekly tests.
Currently, more than 60% of private companies say they are driving vaccination regulations, and the US Chamber of Commerce encourages companies not to delay it.
In August, Biden announced a mandate that would require nearly 100 million U.S. workers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. However, the mandate remains with the courts.
Fast response teams
Biden announced the deployment of more than 60 COVID-19 emergency teams this winter, including more than 20 teams from the Department of Defense Medical Response Team and 10 teams from the National Disaster Medical System. The teams will be ready to assist with staffing in the hospitals if necessary.
More than 20 teams of monoclonal antibody attack teams will be used to provide treatments and more than 15 teams of CDC experts will be used to conduct outbreak investigations.
The US rescue plan will allocate $ 20 million to strengthen the Medical Reserve Corps to provide additional resources for community volunteers, according to the plan.
Providing treatment
The government also said it is taking steps to obtain 13 million doses of antiviral courses to ensure adequate supplies for the winter months.
According to the report, that’s six times the amount spent on COVID-19 hospital admissions that year.
Worldwide vaccination efforts
The US is currently committed to donating 1.2 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, the government said. Biden pledged to administer an additional 200 million doses over the next 100 days, with deliveries to countries in need accelerated.
“Equipped for all scenarios”
The government said it is working with Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to develop a contingency plan for variant-specific vaccines or boosters if necessary.
Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, DVM, PhD, stated this week that a version of its COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant could be ready in about 100 days.
perspective
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Lawrence O. Gostin, JD
Lawrence O. Gostin
Biden’s plan is overwhelming. It’s little more than what we’re already doing and has no chance of containing the Omicron variant. It’s disappointing that there is more of this. We keep asking people to get vaccinated and they refuse. Asking again just doesn’t work.
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD
Director, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health
Georgetown University
Disclosure: Gostin does not report any relevant financial information.
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