we don t have enough resources to do it. what do you make of this decision? right, chuck. they have no other choice. they have been forced into this position. we have very high transmission levels of this virus and it s true. contact tracing is an effective strategy containing the virus. but only up to a certain point. when you have levels as high as the current levels of omicron transmission it basically is ineffective combine would the fact that we have inspected staff and public health workers. i think what we re seeing in maine is likely going to happen, unfortunately, in other states. let me ask you this. we didn t we look like we are caught off guard by this variant. we didn t have enough testing supplies ready to go as the demand for testing and i ve heard some argue that even pre-omicron we wouldn t have had the testing supplies necessary for the rush before the holidays. but given that another variant
testing. in retrospect was that a mistake? well, i think that perhaps there could have been testing supplies sooner but i think this move to provide a half billion tests to the american people is vital. testing is a problem. my own parents who are about to engage in travel had to travel an hour and a half yesterday to get tested. and so these at home tests will help. especially as a lot of my constituents are concerned about keeping the schools open and getting the little ones tested to make sure they can go back to school safely. right. look, this is a country of what, 340 million people. 500 million tests, at home tests. it s good. it s just a start though right? we need billions and billions of tests in order for us to continue to monitor the virus, keep schools open, keep
we really need to have more testing supplies, no question of it. and just to follow up on that, i ve been talking with friends today. i think people do get confused. they say, well, i ve just had a headache. should i get a test? would you advise someone who has one symptom, maybe they just have a tickle in their throat, should they be getting tested? that s a real good question. i get that question every day. people call me up and say, dr. harmon, i ve got a sinus infection or a headache, would you see me or do you think i should take some medicine. i ask them, if you have any risk of exposure and if they ve been immunized, and the symptoms of the omicron variant are a little more sneaky. it does have a little more bite than bark on it. i tell them, if you can find a test, let s get tested. and i tend to believe the results of the test. right, stick with that. we know that you were very critical of the cdc s updated guidance for isolation and quarantine. i m curious what you thin
welcome back to state of the union. i m jake tapper. as the omicron variant pushes cases to record highs across the country parents and students are facing what we put behind us, virtual learning as thousands of students and teachers call out which can with covid. in new york city the mayor is resisting pressure to pause in-person learning. how is he making that work? mr. mayor, congratulations on taking the oath of office. it s good to see you. you ve seen the images the last few weeks, lines of new yorkers wrapped around the block trying to get covid tests. the biden administration tried to improve access to testing supplies. are you getting from you need from the biden administration and are you satisfied where test something in new york city right now? we are getting what we need
collaborated with fema to increase surge testing just over the holidays. we ve increased testing, federal testing sites for pcrs doing thousands of tests over the holiday and in collaboration with pharmacies. in that stead we re able to map where the pharmacies are and special vulnerable and we can put the tests there. and then we actually put tests in our community centers as well. so a broad stretch in order to be able to get access to testing especially among those most vulnerable and of course $10 billion for testing supplies to our schools and working closely with our schools in peer-to-peer support in technical support to allow those tests to be used well in those school settings. thank you. dr. fauci one more question