Your questions, answered We invited Post Opinions contributor Leana Wen to answer one of our reader questions. Her newsletter "The Checkup with Dr. Wen," out every Thursday, features a Q&A with readers. Click here to sign up. "What can ordinary people do to get testing, especially rapid tests, back in play? Congress allocated money, but cheap, universal rapid tests appear to be only a dream." — Judith from Oregon Judith, I cannot agree with you more on both points, that we need widely accessible rapid testing, and that it's very far from reality in the United States. Lack of testing was one of the major reasons as to why the United States was unable to contain covid-19 from the very start. Yet, we appear not to have learned our lesson. Last year at this time, many of us in public health were calling for easy-to-access rapid testing. People who have symptoms need to know as soon as possible if what they have is the coronavirus. In addition, about 50 percent of coronavirus transmission comes from asymptomatic individuals, which means that surveillance testing is crucial. Imagine if all students could be tested before going to school and if all employees could do the same before heading to work. Even if a test were only 80 percent effective, that's far better than no surveillance testing at all. I'm glad that the Biden administration really doubled down on vaccine supply and distribution. That was absolutely the right thing to do, but vaccination doesn't make testing obsolete. There are a lot of people who remain unvaccinated, either by choice or because they are children too young to get the vaccine. Moreover, breakthrough infections can happen, and vaccinated people should also be tested to prevent onward transmission. As you mentioned, Congress did allocate funding, including for additional coronavirus testing in schools. In addition, President Biden has just announced that the federal government will purchase $1 billion worth of tests and will quadruple rapid tests by December This is welcome news, but still not enough. As I wrote in my column last week, we need to look at the examples of other countries. In the United Kingdom, families can request a packet of seven tests at any point — totally free. Canada is providing free rapid tests to businesses. In Singapore and Japan, there are tests easily accessible in vending machines. The United States is capable of doing this, too. We need to get to the point that everyone can test themselves twice a week. People should be able to test themselves at home and get a result within 15 minutes. It should become the norm to test before going to school and work. Friends and family should encourage each other to get tested before getting together for drinks and dinner. The Biden administration should put as much emphasis into testing as it has into vaccination. In the meantime, I encourage people to call around to their local pharmacy to see what rapid tests are available in your area. Keep at least enough that you can test each family member: If someone is symptomatic or exposed, and you cannot easily and quickly access the gold-standard PCR test, at least everyone in your household can get an initial rapid antigen test. If your pharmacy has a lot of rapid tests available, consider purchasing a stockpile of a couple of dozen to use for surveillance purposes. They could become very handy for the holidays when extended families are visiting one another. (I've discussed other holiday planning tips in my newsletter and will keep doing so through the season — you can sign up here.) | 
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