Dr. Fauci Admits ‘We Should Have Had More Tests Available’
Dr. Anthony Fauci conceded that the Biden administration hasn’t made coronavirus testing as accessible as it should be around the country by this point.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director gave an interview to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Monday, who started by asking him if he agrees with the CDC’s recommendation that healthcare workers no longer need to isolate for 10 days if they are asymptomatic and test negative. Fauci said the government is considering the new guidelines on a larger scale because “there are a lot of people in society that are essential for the smooth running of the infrastructure of our society.”
“So the idea about cutting down the period of quarantine for people who have been exposed — and perhaps the period of isolation for people who have been infected — is something that is under, I would say, serious consideration,” Fauci said.
From there, Collins turned to testing shortages in order to ask Fauci “at what point will we be here in the United States where anyone and everyone can walk into a drugstore and get an at-home test?” Fauci expressed hope that 500 million Covid tests will be available in early January, and “things are going to change substantially in the first couple of weeks” of the new year.
Collins then asked why America hasn’t already reached that point since the country is in the middle of the holiday season.
Fauci’s answer:
You know, testing has always been an issue that has been problematic. It has been compounded by the situation of the high demands. We had a conflation high demands because of the concern about Omicron, which is a justifiable concern, but the high demand that was triggered by the holiday season, people getting ready to travel, getting ready to mix with family members and friends has been a very, very strong run on testing. Not making any excuses for it, we should’ve had more tests available, but hopefully now as we get into the first couple weeks of January, that’ll get much better.
Watch above, via CNN.
