bolster support with more capacity to get shots in arms. with more places, more vaccinators, more times for folks to get vaccinated or get a booster shot. and we ve added appointments for booster shots adding hours, getting more convenient to get a booster every day. the second thing is we re testing. seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend, shows we have more work to do. we re doing it first. let s talk about how we got here. when i took office ten months in, we were ten months into the pandemic and even so, we had no over the counter home tests in the united states. none. and if you wanted to get one, get a test, you had to go to a clinic or drugstore to have someone give you a test. there were very few places. we got to work. we quadrupled the number of pharmaies offering free tests. and many locations you can book
think when you see how much time and effort, i mean, days there? it still requires in many cases just to get one. how surprised are you? we re still in this boat when it comes to testing? joe, what i ll say is i am incredibly disappointed and also appalled we re at this point. we ve had two years to amp up testing. and the testing infrastructure in this country, and the fact that people are still waiting in line at this point is unconscionable. i looked out my window this morning at urgent care, at least 50 people in line to get tested. it s encouraging people want to do the right thing. the public health messaging is out there that people need to get test first down they ve been exposed or they need it for work. they re trying to be responsible. we need the system to support people in making the right decision. doctor, as if we don t have enough headaches, here s another
is that how people should proceed? if you don t have symptoms, that s correct. does that make sense to you? no. i would like to say at the end of five days, you have to take a test. they did not do that because of the shortage of testing so you have a vicious circle we are making policies on the basis of whether we have tests or not. one issue is determining what symptoms are, right? you are a doctor and i am not a doctor, there are shades of symptoms, if you are leaving it up to people determining their own symptoms, five or six days after first testing positive that seems to me a little tricky, is it? you are 100% right.
masking and testing that will help keep people safer. doctor blackstock, i want to ask about the work force. last week we saw the cdc reduce the isolation time for health care workers. now they re under pressure to do the same for more workers. a professor from harvard said it s shortsighted not to apply this more broadly. schools, colleges, sports, broadway, restaurants, airlines, all are facing the same problem with having to isolate people for extended periods without the option to test to return. doctor, what do you say? do you agree? well, you know what? i disagree. i actually think that what we re seeing are high transmission levels in the community. this is why people are getting infected. in the community and at work. so i think we should focus on policies that create safer environments. so we need to encourage mask wearing. we also need to make sure people have testing available. that people have paid sick
monica, let s start with you. we ll see the president joining the covid-19 response team s regular call with the national governor s association. i understand you learned more about what we could learn during the meeting. this is a routine check-in they do with the nation s governors. but what s notable today is that president biden himself will also be joining to really offer assurances to all of them that help is here if they need it. that the u.s. government is prepared to offer any assistance as all of these different states battle the omicron surge and perhaps just as importantly, i m told by a white house official, the president wanted to be on the call to listen, to really hear about what these different state executives are experiencing, and where they may need help when it comes to testing or when it comes to vaccine distribution, boosters, anything related to the response. the president wanted to be on this and personally hear this so he could offer this help. he has never