W.H. COVID Adviser: We’ll Need Tests That Haven’t Arrived ‘for the Long Run’ – ‘In the Near Term,’ COVID Won’t ‘Disrupt’ Like It Does

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Senior Adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team Dr. Tom Inglesby said that coronavirus tests that people requested and haven’t received yet are tests that “we’re going to need” “going forward” in the long term, and that “we’re looking forward to, in the near term, a time when COVID doesn’t disrupt our lives in the way it has.”

Inglesby said, “Well, at this point, more than 50 million households have received their tests out of the initial 60 million that were ordered. So, that’s more than 80% of those who have ordered their tests have gotten them, and the rest will get them this week. We know you’ll get yours this week, Brianna. And we’re going to need these tests going forward. We’re going to need them to interrupt the spread of COVID for the long term. We’re going to need them for people to be able to get early diagnosis so they can get treatment quickly. And we’re going to need them to protect the most vulnerable in our society. So, the Omicron surge, we’re very happy to see that subsiding. But we’re going to need these tests for the long run.”

He added, “We’re going to be prepared for any surge that comes. We don’t know whether we’ll have another surge. We’re, as the president said, we’re looking forward to, in the near term, a time when COVID doesn’t disrupt our lives in the way it has. And we’re going to work to protect people and treat them. But of course, we are going to be prepared for any surge in the future. And we are now better protected against COVID than we’ve ever been. We have more access points for vaccine[s] and boosters. We have more treatments available. Masks, 230 million high-quality masks have been delivered to pharmacies and community health centers. And we have a very strong testing market. So, we have more tools than ever before. We hope that we’re in a period of time where we’re going to be able to have much less disruption, but we’re prepared for a variant of the future if one arrives.”

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