COVID-19 testing

U.S. COVID testing is ‘haphazard.’ Here’s what experts recommend

By Laura Santhanam

The pandemic’s ever-shifting demands mean goals must be established now to build up the country’s testing capacity for the future.

U.S. faces a wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models predict

By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press

The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, yet COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing. Modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the omicron wave subsides this spring.

Omicron spreads as free home tests are set to roll out

By PBS NewsHour

Starting Saturday, private insurers are required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home testing kits, while those without insurance can get a free kit from the federal government. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases rose by another 800,000 across the U.S.

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Growing use of home COVID-19 tests leaves health agencies in the dark about unreported cases

By Kathleen McLaughlin, STAT

While home tests have distinct advantages, most who test positive don’t come to the attention of health officials unless they see a doctor.

Why you can’t find cheap at-home COVID tests

By Rachana Pradhan, Hannah Norman, Kaiser Health News

You probably won’t be testing everyone at your Thanksgiving table for COVID because the tests are expensive and hard to find. Why? The federal government is partly to blame.

New York to require state employees to get vaccines, or get tested

By Marina Villeneuve, Associated Press

New York will require all state employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus by Labor Day or undergo weekly tests for COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

Vaccinated but feeling sick? You might need a COVID test

By Arif R. Sarwari, The Conversation

Vaccinated people can still get infected with the coronavirus. So if you have symptoms of COVID-19, getting tested can protect others and help health officials keep an eye on the virus.

U.S. allows 2 more over-the-counter COVID-19 home tests

By Matthew Perrone, Associated Press

The Food and Drug Administration decision this week is expected to vastly expand the availability of cheap home tests that many experts have recommended for months.

Labs can’t tell you if you have a COVID variant, a problem for tracking and prevention

By Christina Jewett, JoNel Aleccia, Rachana Pradhan, Kaiser Health News

As experts race to get an approved test for COVID variants, officials are severely restricted from sharing information about the cases. That makes it harder to protect others.

UK tests house-to-house in hunt for new COVID-19 variant

By Danica Kirka, Associated Press

House-by-house COVID-19 testing has begun in some communities in England as authorities try to extinguish a new variant of the coronavirus before it spreads widely and undermines a nationwide vaccination program.