You Shouldn’t Have to Pay $24 for a 2-Pack of At-Home Covid Tests
Getting tested for Covid is a social good. It only makes sense for governments to help pay for it.
The arrival of Omicron in the U.S. has meant that at-home rapid tests have become nearly as hard to find as a PS5. The tests sell out online at places like Walmart (which sells Abbott’s Binax test at the lowest price, $14 for a box of two, while most places charge $24) almost as soon as they’re in stock, and people who were smart enough to stock up before the Omicron rush now find themselves making complicated calculations about whether a given get-together is “test-worthy.”
Local governments are trying to step up to help fill the shortfall, since the Biden administration’s plan to distribute 500 million free rapid tests (which it announced last week) has yet to be put in place. Washington D.C. is distributing tests daily at local libraries. Colorado will send Binax tests to people’s home upon request. And Connecticut was supposed to begin distributing 3 million tests (most of which will go to schools) today, though that’s now been delayed by supply shortages. These programs are accomplishing two things — they’re giving people access to tests that are otherwise hard to find, and they’re making normally pricey tests available for free.
