The Biden Administration recently announced the COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan with the intention of helping the country stay ahead of an increase in COVID-19 cases this winter.
The Administration’s COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan includes:
o Free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests available through COVIDTests.gov for a limited round of ordering this winter. All U.S. households can order a total of four at-home COVID-19 tests that will be mailed directly to them for free. o Making vaccinations and treatments readily available to all Americans as cases rise. o Offering resources and assistance to increase vaccinations and respond to a possible surge. o Collaborating with communities to open pop-up and/or mobile vaccination sites. o Getting additional resources to community health centers and aging and disability networks to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts. o Preparing personnel and resources. Urgent needs will be supported as they present, including through clinical staffing, personal protective equipment and supplies, and technical assistance. o Readying clinical personnel for deployment as needed to support jurisdictions. o Pre-positioning critical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile. o Closely monitoring emerging variants and assessing their potential impacts on testing, treatments and vaccines. o Focusing on protecting the highest-risk Americans. o Releasing a winter playbook for nursing homes and long-term care facilities. o Expanding the pool of providers that may administer COVID-19 vaccinations. o Encouraging hospitals to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to patients before discharge. o Expanding access to high-quality masks in communities. o Ensuring that every individual has a plan for COVID-19 this winter.
Source: https://www.covid.gov/tests