Jen Psaki’s Rapid-Testing Gaffe Is Not as Simple as It Seems
At a White House press briefing yesterday, NPR’s national political correspondent Mara Liasson asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki a question that’s been on many people’s minds: “There are still a lot of countries, like Germany and the U.K. and South Korea, that basically have massive testing, free of charge or for a nominal fee,” she said. “Why can’t that be done in the United States?”
Psaki gave a vague response about the administration’s efforts to increase test accessibility and decrease costs, but Liasson followed up: “That’s kind of complicated, though. Why not just make ’em free and give ’em out and have them available everywhere?”
Psaki responded with a sarcastic smile. “Should we just send one to every American?” she asked.
, screamed the internet in the hours that followed. President Joe Biden had just that private insurance companies must reimburse consumers for at-home rapid COVID tests, and his administration has committed of to buying them directly for use in nursing homes and other high-risk places. Still, the pundits are Craig Spencer, a public-health physician at Columbia University. The epidemiologist Eleanor Murray called Biden’s plan . The sociologist and Zeynep Tufekci said the government should “. Or distribute them in workplaces and schools.” In short, the experts argue, the U.S. should follow in the footsteps of countries like Germany and the United Kingdom, where people can get of tests from the government, purchase at supermarkets, visit , or undergo twice-weekly virus checks at or .
