Many Americans have been waiting in long lines at free testing sites since before the Christmas and New Year’s holiday rush. Plenty of others are avoiding the lines and paying $20 or more for over-the-counter, at-home tests — if they can find one.
Out of options, some have headed to crowded emergency rooms in hopes of getting tested, putting themselves and others at greater risk and potentially delaying emergency care for ill and injured people.
“The current demand for testing far exceeds the testing resources that are available,” said Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
That was evident this week as many people searched for tests to take before returning to school or work. President Biden addressed the problem last month by announcing that 500 million tests would be available for free starting in January. But his administration has not given a launch date for the program, and that number of tests will not go far in a country with a population of some 330 million.
Jenna Zitomer, 25, said that her family of five in Westchester, N.Y., has spent around $680 on rapid tests in recent months. “It’s pretty crazy, especially since that’s well over half a paycheck for me,”…
