boston massachusetts today. were it was cold. boston s airport at logan, people have been lining up for tests inside the terminal. yesterday the line in washington d.c. curbed all the way around ferreted square. all these people queuing up to get covid tested. by nightfall tonight, people were still in lines across the city. this is outside of firehouse in d.c., that was offering testing. this was philadelphia pennsylvania, the line stretching all the way around the block. again it was cold. this is new york times square, busiest part of america s largest city. that is a covid testing line today. so many people showed up, they had to set up stations to control the line. if he tried to get a covid test in the last week or so, chances are you ve waited in one of these massive lines. or you ve spent time trying to find an open appointment anywhere near where you live. or maybe you ve gone in and out of drugstores to see if there s any at home test, magically still on the shelves. to the b
collapsing on itself. but, knowing we ve got all those tools, it doesn t really shake the feeling. it doesn t really shake the déjà vu. joining us now is doctor david kessler. he s been a frequent source of guidance for the show. is the top science adviser for the biden administration s covid response. doctor, it s always an honor to have some your time. thanks for being here tonight. thanks for having me rachel. we ve talked a couple of times in the last couple of, weeks about the emerging body of knowledge, that can help us understand, the current state of the pandemic. the affects of this new variant. the omicron variant. we now know that it is the majority of the covid that is circulating in the country. do we know more about the effectiveness of our vaccines against it? do we know more about whether it is less severe, less likely to cause severe illness in people who do get infected? omicron is among the most highly transmissible respiratory viruses in our memory.
get infected with this mutated strain of the coronavirus, do we know whether they are any less likely to be severely ill than if they have been infected with delta or the original strain of covid that we contended with? let me tell you exactly what i know. i have set for days with our scientific colleagues from south africa. there are fewer hospitalizations for case in south africa. there are fewer icu admissions. there is a shorter length of stay. there is no increase in the auctions joint requirement. so all of that suggests that it may be less severe. that may be due to different demographics in south africa. different rates of national immunity. or maybe it is the virus itself. or it may be a combination. some of the unofficial work that i am seeing is very preliminary. it may suggest that it may be
walgreens, are reportedly overwhelmed by the demand for that at home covid, test the struggles have struggled to keep these kits and stop. supplies are dry online as well. today, from the white house, president biden announced new measures, the measures will be taking in the next few weeks. to try to make testing more widely available, and easier to get, the presidents of the u.s. government will be buying 500 million of those at home test kits. and will mail them for free to any american who wants one. that is set to start next month in january. it seems like a big undertaking. the president also announced today, the administration will be opening new federal testing sites across the country. one of those facilities is supposed to open in new york city before the end of this weeks. it s already tuesday. presidents today also tried to reassure those of us who are having flashbacks to what life was like at the start of the pandemic. he said today that despite this new surge, we are in a