Free Pills To Americans, As A New “Test To Treat” Covid Initiative
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : March 3, 2022On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that his administration has launched a new initiative in which Americans can get tested for Covid-19 at a pharmacy and will immediately receive free pills if they test positive. The scheme was named the “Test to Treat” initiative by the president.
Free Pills To Americans, As A New “Test To Treat” Covid Initiative
Joe Biden said during a State of the Union speech, that this is an initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they are positive, get antiviral pills on the spot, at no cost.
Biden also took note of the USA’s progress in fighting the coronavirus but warned that citizens should be prepared for new variants. He said he can not assure anyone that the new variant won’t come, but he promises the citizens that they will do everything they can if it does.
Joe Biden informed that the United States had ordered more of these treatments than any other country in the world. He further added Pfizer Incorporation will offer one million pills to the USA in March and more than double in April. He said that the Pfizer pill reduces the probability of ending up in the hospital by 90%.
The antiviral pill, Paxlovid of Pfizer has shown a significant reduction of hospitalizations and severe illness and was authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration last year.
Biden declared order of 10 million courses upon its authorization. The federal government will double its purchase from 10 million to 20 million treatment courses, told the President.
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration will announce a national preparedness plan for Covid-19. The plan will map out how to safely move forward and get back to our more normal routines, the White House stated.
The White House previously said it is lifting requirements that fully vaccinated people wear masks on White House premises, effective Tuesday. It also told federal agencies that they could waive COVID-19 restrictions of employees and visitors wearing masks in federal buildings in much of the country.
If necessary, the country is in a position to deploy new vaccines within 100 days instead of many more months or years, Biden assured pandemic-weary Americans.
Top White House COVID-19 advisers, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, revealed that the plan comes as coronavirus infections fall in the United States and masking and social distancing guidelines are eased. We have come far away and reached a new moment in the fight against Covid-19 where severe cases are not visible since July of last year.
The US is the worst-hit country by the deadly pandemic that first broke out in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December 2019. The latest data from JohnsHopkins University shows that the US has reported over 79,088,500 confirmed cases and over 952,600 COVID-related deaths.
In his first State Union speech, Biden urged the citizens to stay protected with vaccines and treatments. He said we know how incredibly effective vaccines are. You are highly protected from the infection if you are vaccinated and boosted. And We will never stop vaccinating more Americans.
The President positively said that he knows that some people are talking about living with Covid-19. But tonight, he assures Americans that not only we will just accept living with COVID-19, but we will also continue to combat the virus, as we do other diseases.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.