Health officials told reporters that $ 650 million will be used to increase access to tests in non-medical settings, such as K-8 schools and needy congregational facilities, including homeless shelters. HHS is planning to establish regional coordination centers to organize the distribution of Covid-19 tests and coordinate with laboratories in the United States
The Biden administration also plans to spend $ 815 million to support Covid-19’s national testing supplies, such as pipette tips, molded plastics and a key ingredient for rapid antigen testing.
“Talk to anyone who focused on Covid testing last year and they will say the same thing: our country faces a shortage of essential supplies and raw materials,” said Johnson.
The CDC will use approximately $ 200 million to increase its ability to sequence the genomes of virus samples from 7,000 samples per week to 25,000. Sequencing can reveal how variants of the virus – which can be more transmissible, more virulent, or both – are spreading and whether new variants are emerging.
The United States’ sequencing effort was below the level needed to monitor how the coronavirus is changing, experts said. At least three major variants first detected abroad are now present in the United States, and there are reports of internally developed strains of viruses.
“Genomic sequencing testing is how we will identify variants before they spread,” said Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients.
Background: The Biden government has spent months debating how to implement a national school testing strategy and has pushed for billions more in funding for the effort to be included in the new legislation pending in Congress.
Greg Armstrong, who runs the CDC’s advanced molecular detection program, told POLITICO on Tuesday that the agency expects its sequencing effort to reach 7,000 samples weekly by the end of February and is in active discussions with 13 laboratories to further increase plus capacity.
What is the next: CDC director Rochelle Walensky told reporters that the effort to boost genomic sequencing will take time.
“When we reach 25,000 depends on the resources we have at our fingertips and how quickly we can mobilize our partners,” said Walensky. “I don’t think this is going to be a light switch.”