cars in line this. testing site actually switching to appointments only after just a few days ago there was a line that went all the way in the street. almost 100 cars that was blocking traffic and had to get the police involved to manage it. now they have moved to appointment only. so it is move pretty quickly here because of that structure. but it is still days until folks can get an appointment. if you signed on today, sometimes, two, three, four-day waits to get there. i spoke with a man in line who said that was tough for him. he had a potential exposure, tried to get tested as early as wednesday and had to wait day asks days to be able to do that. he planned to go to a new year s eve party last night but he had to sit at home, you know, with his girlfriend, instead of going to see friends. that s the reality for a lot of folks across the states when this testing demand really turned into a testing crisis and it is just so hard to fine those tests. people wanted to get them before
we appreciate it. liz, let me start with you on this one and just kind of walk me through what s happening in north carolina, seeing some of the highest numbers throughout this pandemic so far. folks scrambling to get tested as we re returning from holiday break. what are you seeing? reporter: well, that really goes hand-in-hand, this testing demand is at an all-time high and more and more of those tests are coming back positive in north carolina alone, more than 1.5 million cases now since the start of the pandemic, nearly 20,000 deaths here, and across the country, states breaking pandemic records. take a look here behind me at this line. it just stretches all the way down the street, and earlier this week, we saw traffic that needed the police to be able to control the flow of traffic because it was going all the way out into the main roads. now it s appointment only. it used to be able, you could drive up and at least wait hours for that line, but because of the chaos we ve seen
is hitting a ramping up testing capacity. and i think they re doubling down now on the efforts to open new testing sites by the federal government, to make sure, as you mailing tests home, getting them to community health centers, making sure that pharmacies have them available. so it s really the surge of omicron that has created suddenly this crunch of testing demand. but i think we re up to the task. the biden administration absolutely knows that true. i think we also, jake have to make sure that those americans who have started on their booster shots and don t have the second dose of vaccine step up. there s no shortage of vaccine or boosters. and we know that will take the demand down on tests. make sure you get those shots that are available all throughout the country. get your kids vaccinated and we can get through omicron with
smith family testing positive. 19-month-old vinny, still too young for the shot, got very sick. his family struggling to find an open bed at the local hospital. there didn t seem to be enough people to help everyone that needed it. reporter: in texas, 27-year-old mother crystal hernandez was not vaccinated when she died of covid complications less than two weeks after the birth of her sixth child. i wish i would have hugged her tighter and held her longer before i let her walk through those sliding doors. reporter: in the nation s capital tonight, thousands rallying against vaccine mandates. health officials stressing vaccines and booster shots are the best defense against severe infection from omicron. but 86 million eligible americans still haven t received one. testing demand still high. in california, new video showing tens of millions of rapid tests waiting to be shipped out of this warehouse. i-health, which has a government
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