Government Announces Free COVID-19 Tests, Treatments To Mitigate Fall And Winter Spread

CNN (8/23, Goodman) reported US “government officials announced on Friday the return of programs to offer free [COVID-19] tests, vaccines and treatments to see the nation through the winter respiratory virus season.” The free tests will come back “in time for fall and winter gatherings,” and “government-purchased supplies of the antiviral drug Paxlovid will also be available at no charge to people who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid.” While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “forecasters are predicting that the US will see about the same number or fewer hospitalizations for respiratory diseases as it did at the same time last year,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen “said that forecast could change if lower-than-expected numbers of people get vaccinated or if there’s a variant of COVID-19 or the flu that causes more severe disease than anticipated.” The Hill (8/23, Weixel) reported the officials “said they are recommending annual COVID-19 shots to align with flu shots because they want to make sure people are getting vaccinated.” Also reporting was Healio (8/23, Feller).