analyst dr. leana wen. as gabe is laying out the problems with testing in the country which has been all along the pandemic, we also know that making a big push on testing is a central part of what the president is announcing today. half a billion tests to be made available to ship to people s homes. it is a very dig number, but is it enough? it s not nearly enough. it s actually too little too late though do condemn the commend the biden administration that home testing and mailing testing to americans is really what we need. if we think about the 500 million number, let s say there 350es 30 million americans. let s say half of americans want test. 500 mill john enough to get all those people who want tests only three tests. that s not nearly enough. we need to be getting to the point that every family is able to test at least twice a week before kids go to school, before people go to work, also before
friends and family are fearing for begin dinner, for casual events. testing should not be the limiting factor. we shouldn t be having to ration tests and think if this event is pretty important, we need to test for that. testing needs to become a ubiquitous part of our lives as we figure out how to move on and live with covid-19. when you lay it out that way, it sounds like there s no way, that it will be a long way off before testing availability is ramped up enough at this point to really make a difference. is that what you think? yes, but what i would love to hear from the biden administration is a commitment to get to that goal. they did a phenomenal job with something a lot more complex which is vaccination. i mean, to produce vaccines that are really finicky and require specific storage and distribution, they were able to figure this out to the point that within a matter of months, a few months, everybody who wanted a vaccine was able to get one. we now need to do the same th
for the testing, the uk, so many other countries have figured out how to do this. america do this, too. it requires political will. it requires testing becoming the number one priority going forward as much as vaccines because i think the biden administration has put all their eggs in the vaccine basket and real forgot that testing is this other super important component along by the way with masking. it is a vaccines, testing and masking that are going to get us through this. dr. fauci said today on cnn that an important consideration that s being discussed right now is actually cutting the time period that vaccinated people need to ease late after they test positive. there s an amount of breakthrough cases, and right now it s kind of ten days of isolation recommended across the board. what do you think of this idea of cutting that time period down? we should have as short of a time period needed for isolation
more apparent. nearly two years into the pandemic, you may be wondering why is this still a problem? cnn s gabe cohen has been looking at that. he s joining me right now. gabe, what have you found? well, kate right now, the situation is not good. many people either can t find tests or they are waiting in line for hours to get swabbed ahead of the holidays, but now the biden administration is making a massive investment in testing. they are buying half a billion at-home rapid tests that they will start delivering to people for free starting next month, and then they are also opening new test sites, the first in the next couple of days. with christmas days away, americans are scrambling to get covid tests, waiting in line in some cases for hours. just kind of like trying to play it safe for the family. health experts are warning people, even those without symptoms, to get tested before gathering with loved ones. they could add another level
of greater manchester and lancashire in the coming weeks. in bolton, a big push on testing but also vaccinations has succeeded in cutting the infection rate by around a quarter injust ten days. the plan is to replicate that success across the region. here in stockport, in the south of greater manchester, the infection rate has grown by 150% in just a week. now, that s obviously meant some schoolchildren have been sent home, even some businesses have had to close as staff self isolate. but the really serious impact will be if those infections translate into hospitalisations, if people fall so ill, they end up being admitted. so far, at least, health leaders in greater manchester say the vaccines are keeping the most vulnerable out of hospital. it is now predominantly younger people, who ve not had access to vaccines, they re not getting seriously ill, and they re not, in general, ending up in intensive care. because it s generally unvaccinated younger people falling ill with the virus,