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At the White House Daily Press Conference yesterday (December 6), a reporter asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki about rapid testing for the coronavirus. Although the U.S. government has announced plans to conduct rapid testing of covid-19 at home more widely, they are still far from widespread. Unlike Germany, the United Kingdom, or South Korea, in Germany, the United Kingdom, or South Korea, a large number of tests can be distributed for free or at a nominal price anywhere from the library to the airport, while in the United States, home tests are expensive (US$10 or more each ), and not easy to find, the reporter noticed.

Why can't the United States do this?

Although Psaki did not give an exact answer, she does seem to think that the idea that the United States might provide free testing to everyone is a bit absurd. "Should we send a [test] to every American?" she asked the reporter sarcastically.

But the answer to this question is yes-the US government should definitely send free tests to every American. In fact, it should send more than one, just like the UK and other countries.

In explaining the elements of the rapid response of the United States, Psaki went the other way, showing how far the current situation is from what it should be.

In her answer, the first thing Psaki pointed out was that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a test, which she called the "gold standard", and tests in other countries may not meet the same requirements . This is true: for example, the FDA’s authorization standards are higher than the European standards, which guarantees specific product standards and reliability. The result is that there are fewer tests available on the market, and authorized manufacturers have more power to set prices.

But tests are not expensive because they are better. If the US government invests enough in them to create a large enough market so that approved manufacturers can mass-produce them, then cheaper and more accurate tests can be mass-produced.

In addition, the same tests approved in the United States, such as Abbott BinaxNOW, which Psaki calls the "gold standard", are offered at a much lower cost or free of charge in other countries because the price is subsidized by the government.

Psaki said that the White House’s plan is to “continue to increase access and reduce costs over time.” But gradual increases may not be able to perform enough tests where needed, and it will certainly not get them there in time.

Psaki added that the White House has quadrupled the size of the test program. But this does not mean that actual availability has increased fourfold, pointed out Michael Mina, an epidemiologist who has long advocated improved testing.

There is a great demand for testing now—not in the future. States such as Colorado or New Hampshire, which distributed free tests to the public, soon sold out.

As part of the testing plan, one of the few positive measures announced by the White House is that private insurance companies will reimburse home testing. According to Psaki, this will provide free testing for 150 million Americans. This is wishful thinking at best: the prospect of handling insurance bills and reimbursement can prevent purchases.

The White House stated that it will provide 50 million tests for uninsured patients, especially in rural areas, but it is unclear whether patients covered by Medicare or Medicaid will also be reimbursed, or whether the number of rapid tests will be fully covered. limited.

Another factor mentioned by Psaki is the price of sending the test to every American household. This is also a weak point.

Of course, if the government buys enough tests to send to every household, it will get a better price than the price paid by the end consumer. Even if you do this, the cost will not exceed $4 billion-compared with the social, medical, and personal costs that can be reduced through testing, this is a piece of cake. This calculation alone is enough to persuade the White House not to send a test for each person—but multiple times, and send it when needed.

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