Alabama households can sign up for free COVID-19 test kits from the White House. The Biden administration is currently offering four free kits for each residential address that applies online. The new testing program comes as Alabama health care providers see signs that the new omicron variant of COVID-19 is nearing its peak. Doctor David Kimberlin teaches pediatric medicine at UAB. He says omicron is more contagious than previous strains of COVID, but the news isn’t all bad.
“A little bit of a silver lining...a little bit….is that the proportion of hospitalized patients has been lower than has been the case in prior surges of the virus,” said Kimberlin.” That is better than that not being the case.”
But a less threatening variant doesn’t mean fewer cases. The number of COVID-19 patients is reported to be straining Alabama’s hospital system. Doctor Kimberlin adds that Children’s Hospital of Alabama also reports a record number of youngsters being treated for the coronavirus in addition to adults who are infected.
“So, really they’re simply saying well, maybe a smaller proportion are in an ICU, or on a ventilator. Again, better than that not being the case, but it’s not an opportunity for us to celebrate and say we therefore don’t have a lot to be worried about…we have a lot to worry about right now.”
A White House press release says the free COVID test kits will ship within 7-12 days of being ordered. Also, the administration says private health insurance companies will be required to cover at home COVID test kits for free. Another ten million kits will be made available to public schools each month.
