Brandon: I Sure Wish I'd Thought of Ordering Rapid Test Kits Two Months Ago

At the beginning of December, Jen Psaki sneered at the idea of just sending Americans rapid testing kits so that they'd easily know if they had covid. She thought it was the silliest idea ever, and mocked the reporter for suggesting such a thing.

At a press briefing on December 6, Psaki was asked if the U.S. should follow the example of other countries and provide at-home tests free of charge.

Psaki said the administration had "quadrupled the size of our testing plan, we've cut the cost significantly over the past few months, and this effort ensures you're able to get your tests refunded, and means 150 million Americans will be able to get free tests."

When she was asked whether the system of reimbursement through health insurance was too complex, she appeared to mock the idea of sending Americans free tests.

"Should we just send one to every American?" Psaki asked, adding: "Then what, then what happens if you, if every American has one test? How much does that cost, and then what happens after that?"

Stupid people get snarky and mean when they're caught out of their depth, which is always, because they're stupid.

On December 7, Psaki again defended the administration's policy of "ensuring that everyone in America has access to free testing, whether at a doctor's office, pharmacy, community testing site, or, now, at home."

She said the administration's policy was "not to send everyone in the country a test just to send--to have millions of tests go unused where we know others can make use of them."

And now that omicron is spreading rapidly and oh boy it sure would be nice if people could just run an in-home test to find out if they should stay home for five days, Biden will be sending out at-home test kits to Americans.

And they should arrive here... sometime in January. Or later.

When the omicron surge will probably (hopefully) already be over.

And Brandon says, Gee willickers, I sure wish I'd thought of sending out test kits two months ago, which people were telling me to do two months ago, when my staff was sneering at them with anger born of stupid, incompetent defensiveness.

Biden announced earlier this week that the government will send out half a billion tests to Americans for free. The administration expects the first batch of tests from manufacturers to be ready in January and will roll out a website for ordering tests once the shipment arrives.

The news came as communities experienced shortages of over-the-counter tests, as well as public testing sites plagued with long lines and wait times, ahead of the holiday weekend.

Friends of mine may or may not have covid, and have gone to the drug stores for OTC tests -- the shelves are empty.

But it's just like Karen not getting her Peloton on time.

In an interview Wednesday with ABC News' David Muir, Biden was asked if there was a "failure" when it came to testing.

"You could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, one month ago. I've ordered... 500 million test kits that are going to be available to be sent to every home in America for anybody who wants them," he replied.

Sometime in February, they will be.

Not such a help right now in Our Winter of Death and Overflowing Hospitals is it now, Brandon?

"But the answer is, yeah, I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion [tests] two months ago before COVID hit here," Biden continued.

Press secretary Jen Psaki was hit with questions about Biden's remarks during Thursday's press briefing, as several reporters inquired why the move wasn't made earlier to have the tests before Christmas instead of January.

...

The administration was widely criticized just weeks ago for not providing free tests to households as other countries like the United Kingdom and Germany have been doing.

posted by Ace at 04:45 PM

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