fda about at-home antigen tests, it s a little confusing, the fda saying those tests are not as sensitive to detecting omicron, but the white house team stressed the at-home tests still offer, quote, an important use. jeremy diamond joins me. jeremy, i know you just spoke to the covid-19 response director. what did he tell you? reporter: that s right, i asked at the coronavirus briefing specifically about the 500 million happen at-home tests that the white house is set to ship to americans beginning next month. and the news that he gave me is that they re still in the process of finalizing the contract to obtain those. but he says he does expect that contract to be completed late next week. of course, that would be the end of the first week of january. meaning that americans likely won t begin to see see the at-home covid tests until end of january. he said the details are forthcoming still in terms
COVID testing kit developed by TATA MD called OmiSure is the brainchild of Bengaluru virologist Dr V Ravi, which can detect Omicron variant within hours.
detecting omicron. meanwhile, the president is under increasing pressure to make a decision about whether he will than date vaccinations for the millions of people who get on a plane or train to travel. after a brief walk on the beach tuesday with the first lady and his new dog commander, the president was asked about travel vaccine mandates. when might you make a decision on vaccine requirement? [inaudible] critics say don t do it? when you have a leader overstep their authority, especially in a time of crisis, that s when you break this country. today, dr. anthony fauci said he is not inclined to recommend a travel vaccine but that could always change. bret? bret: david, thank you. tonight we remember former nevada senator and former senate majority leader harry reid. the long time democratic lawmaker tied tuesday after a
purchased to six. obviously it becoming very difficult to get these tests and they have limited effectiveness in detecting omicron. but if you can get one, go ahead, use it especially if you are showing some kind of symptoms of covid. that s when they are at their most accurate. julie, back to you. julie: gerrwillis, thank you. president biden: there is no federal solution. this gets solved at a state level. i m looking at governor tsunami tsunami sununu on the board. where the rubber meets the road. benjamin: president biden dodging responsibility for the testing shortage. it must be solved at the state level and eight states are already providing free tests. let s bring in iowa
guidance from ten days to five days for those with asymptomatic infection was driven by evidence that most transmission occurs in the first five days. meantime, as hospitalizations of children with covid-19 are rising at an alarming rate, surging nearly 50% in just a week, dr. walensky says she hopes for approval for boosters for 1 to 15-year-olds in the days and weeks ahead. vaccines for kids under age 5 will take longer. as airlines canceled thousands of flights over the holiday weekend, president biden says vaccine requirements for domestic travel could be imposed if his medical team recommends it. let s le ginn with our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen for more on the news that rapid at-home covid-19 tests may be less effective when it comes to detecting omicron. what do we know? poppy, what we know bottom line is these tests even before