Dear MoveOn member,
We're in the middle of another COVID surge—and we know that testing is crucial to keeping our friends and family healthy once we've been exposed. But, as it stands, tests are costly and can be hard to get. The Biden administration created a program to send free antigen tests to Americans who make the request, but the current cap is four tests per household per month. That's not nearly enough.1
Every week, roughly 1,500 people in our country are dying from COVID-related causes.2 With new variants, immunity is waning and causing an increase in infections and hospitalizations, with cases spiking across the globe.3 We can't allow the mistakes of the past to repeat. President Biden has shown that he takes this global threat seriously. Now, his administration must move quickly to give Americans the resources they need to once again stop the spread.
The Federal Health Emergency for COVID expired in May 2023, meaning private insurance companies are no longer required to cover the costs of testing. This pushed the most reliable form of testing for early detection, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, out of reach for so many individuals and families. And while households can still request access to four free at-home antigen tests per month, that number is insufficient given the uptick in cases—and we don't know when supplies will run out.
We can't ignore the threat COVID still poses to public health. In one week last month, there were nearly 31,000 new COVID-19 hospitalizations across the country.4 At-home testing has been shown to slow the spread.5 Will you add your name to the petition, and then share with three friends to increase access to FREE COVID testing?
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Jensine, Tania, Corinne, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Free COVID test kits are back. Here's how to get them," CBS News, September 25, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/186338?t=7&akid=374949%2E40999114%2EujKH5n
2. "Why are 1,500 Americans still dying from COVID every week?" ABC News, January 10, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186339?t=9&akid=374949%2E40999114%2EujKH5n
3. "Highly mutated COVID variant 'Pirola' JN.1 is spawning. Its descendants are climbing the charts, as the global death toll mounts," Fortune, January 11, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186340?t=11&akid=374949%2E40999114%2EujKH5n
4. "5 things to know for Feb. 2: 2024 race, Gun violence, Middle East, Small plane crash, Covid-19 vaccines," CNN, February 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186341?t=13&akid=374949%2E40999114%2EujKH5n
5. "Medicare enrollees can get free home coronavirus tests from pharmacies," The New York Times, April 4, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/186342?t=15&akid=374949%2E40999114%2EujKH5n
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